<^V'  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  ^f^ 


Purchased   by  the 
Mrs.    Robert   Lenox    Kennedy   Church   History   Fund. 


Division 

Section.... 


.C77 


(fanning 


UNITARIANISM  IN  AMERICA 


9i  l^tflftory  of  it&  Origin  auD  SDrbelopment 


BY 


GEORGE  WILLIS    COOKE 

MEMBER    OF    TUZ    AMERICAN     HISTORICAL    ASSOCIATION,    AMERICAN    ASSOCIATION 

FOR    THE    ADVANCEMENT    OF    SCIENCE,     AMERICAN    ACADEMY    OF 

POLITICAL    AND    SOCIAL    SCIENCE,   ETC. 


BOSTON 

AMERICAN    UNITARIAN   ASSOCIATION 

1902 


Copyright  1002 
American  Unitarian  Association 


PREFACE. 


The  aim  I  have  had  in  view  in  writing  this  book  has 
been  to  give  a  history  of  the  origin  of  Unitarianism  in 
the  United  States,  how  it  has  organized  itself,  and  what 
it  has  accomphshed.  It  seemed  desirable  to  deal  more 
fully  than  has  been  done  hitherto  with  the  obscure  be- 
ginnings of  the  Unitarian  movement  in  New  England ; 
but  Umits  of  space  have  made  it  impossible  to  treat  this 
phase  of  tlie  subject  in  other  than  a  cursory  manner.  It 
deserves  an  exhaustive  treatment,  which  will  amply  re- 
pay the  necessary  labor  to  this  end.  The  theological 
controversies  that  led  to  the  separation  of  the  Unitarians 
from  the  older  Congregational  body  have  been  only 
briefly  alluded  to,  the  design  of  my  work  not  requiring 
an  ampler  treatment.  It  was  not  thought  best  to  cover 
the  ground  so  ably  traversed  by  Rev.  George  E.  Ellis,  in 
his  HaK-century  of  the  Unitarian  Controversy;  Rev, 
Joseph  Henry  Allen,  in  his  Our  Liberal  Movement  in 
Theology;  Rev.  WilHam  Channing  Gannett,  in  his 
Memoir  of  Dr.  Ezra  Stiles  Gannett ;  and  by  Rev.  Jolm 
Wliite  Chadwick,  in  his  Old  and  New  Unitarian  Beliefs. 
The  attempt  here  made  has  l)een  to  supi)lement  these 
works,  and  to  treat  of  the  practical  side  of  Unitarianism, 
— its  organizations,  charities,  philanthropies,  and  re- 
forms. 

With  the  theological  problems  involved  in  the  histoiy 
of  Unitarianism  this  volume  deals  only  so  far  as  they 
have  affected  its  general  development.  I  have  endeav- 
ored to  treat  of  them  fairly  and  without  prejudice,  to 


IT  PREFACE 

state  the  position  of  each  side  to  the  various  controver- 
sies in  the  words  of  those  who  have  accepted  its  point  of 
view,  and  to  judge  of  them  as  phases  of  a  lai'ger  relig- 
ious growth.  I  have  not  thought  it  wise  to  attempt 
anything  approaching  an  exhaustive  treatment  of  the 
controversies  produced  by  the  transcendental  movement 
and  by  "the  Western  issue."  If  they  are  to  be  dealt 
with  in  the  true  sj)irit  of  the  historical  method,  it  must 
be  at  a  period  more  remote  from  these  discussions  than 
that  of  one  who  participated  in  them,  however  shghtly. 
I  have  endeavored  to  treat  of  all  phases  of  Unitarianism 
without  reference  to  local  interests  and  without  sectional 
preferences.  If  my  book  does  not  indicate  such  regard 
to  what  is  national  rather  than  to  what  is  provincial,  as 
some  of  my  readers  may  desire,  it  is  due  to  inability  to 
secure  information  that  would  have  given  a  broader 
character  to  my  treatment  of  the  subject. 

The  preteent  work  may  appear  to  some  of  its  readers 
to  have  been  written  in  a  sectarian  spirit,  with  a  purpose 
to  magnify  the  excellences  of  Unitarianism,  and  to  ig- 
nore its  limitations.  Such  has  not  been  the  purpose  I 
have  kept  before  me ;  but,  rather,  my  aim  has  been  to 
present  the  facts  candidly  and  justly,  and  to  treat  of  them 
from  the  standpoint  of  a  student  of  the  religious  evolu- 
tion of  mankind.  Unitarianism  in  this  country  presents 
an  attempt  to  bring  religion  into  harmony  with  pliiloso- 
phy  and  science,  and  to  reconcile  Christianity  with  the 
modern  spirit.  Its  effort  in  this  direction  is  one  that  de- 
serves careful  consideration,  especially  in  view  of  the 
unity  and  harmony  it  has  developed  in  the  body  of  be- 
lievers who  accept  its  teachings.  The  Unitarian  body  is 
a  small  one,  but  it  has  a  history  of  great  significance  with 
reference  to  the  future  development  of  Christianity. 


PREFACE  V 

The  names  of  those  who  accept  Unitarianism  have  not 
been  given  in  this  book  m  any  boastful  spirit.  A  faith 
that  is  often  spoken  against  may  justify  itself  by  what  it 
has  accomplished,  and  its  best  fruits  are  the  men  and 
women  who  have  lived  in  the  spirit  of  its  teachings.  In 
presenting  the  names  of  those  who  are  not  in  any  way 
identified  with  Unitarian  churches,  the  purpose  has  been 
to  suggest  the  wide  and  inclusive  character  of  the  Uni- 
tarian movement,  and  to  indicate  that  it  is  not  repre- 
sented merely  by  a  body  of  churches,  but  that  it  is  an 
individual  way  of  looking  at  the  facts  of  hfe  and  its 
problems. 

In  wi'iting  the  following  pages,  I  have  had  constantly 
in  mind  those  who  have  not  been  educated  as  Unitarians, 
and  who  have  come  into  this  inheritance  througli  strug- 
gle and  search.  Not  having  been  to  the  manner  born 
myself,  I  have  sought  to  provide  such  persons  with  the 
kind  of  information  that  would  have  been  helpful  to  me 
in  my  endeavors  to  know  the  Unitarian  Hfe  and  temper. 
Something  of  what  appears  in  these  pages  is  due  to  this 
desire  to  help  those  who  wish  to  know  concretely  what 
Unitarianism  is,  and  what  it  has  said  and  done  to  justify 
its  existence.  This  will  account  for  the  manner  of  treat, 
ment  and  for  some  of  the  topics  selected. 

When  this  work  was  begun,  the  design  was  that  it 
should  form  a  part  of  the  exhibit  of  Unitarianism  in  this 
countiy  presented  at  the  seventy-fifth  anniversary  of  the 
formation  of  the  American  Unitarian  Association.  The 
time  required  for  a  careful  verification  of  facts  made  it 
impossible  to  have  tlie  book  ready  at  that  date.  The  de- 
lay in  its  publication  has  not  freed  the  work  from  all 
errors  and  defects,  but  it  has  given  the  opportunity  for  a 
more  adequate  treatment  of  many  phases  of  the  subject. 


VI  PEEFACE 

Much  of  the  work  required  in  its  preparation  aoes  not 
show  itself  in  the  following  pages ;  but  it  has  involved  an 
extended  examination  of  manuscript  journals  and  rec- 
ords, as  well  as  j)rinted  reports  of  societies,  newspapers, 
magazines,  pamiDlilets,  and  books.  Many  of  the  subjects 
dealt  with,  not  having  been  touched  upon  in  any  previ- 
ous historical  work,  have  demanded  a  first-hand  study  of 
records,  often  difficult  to  find  access  to,  and  even  more 
difficult  to  summarize  in  an  interesting  and  adequate 
manner. 

I  wish  here  to  warmly  thank  all  those  persons,  many 
in  number  and  too  numerous  to  give  all  their  names,  who 
have  generously  aided  me  with  their  letters  and  manu- 
scripts, and  by  the  loan  of  books,  magazines,  pamphlets, 
and  newspapers.  Without  their  aid  the  book  would 
have  been  much  less  adequate  in  its  treatment  of  manv 
subjects  than  it  is  at  present.  Though  I  am  responsible 
for  the  book  as  it  presents  itself  to  the  reader,  much  of 
its  value  is  due  to  those  who  have  thus  labored  with  me 
in  its  preparation.  In  manuscript  and  in  proof-sheet  it 
has  been  read  by  several  j^ersons,  who  have  kindly  aided 
in  secui'ing  accuracy  to  names,  dates,  and  historic  facts. 

G.  W.  C. 

Boston,  October  1,  1902. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

I.    Introduction. —  English  Soukoes  of  American 

Unitarianism 1 

Renaissance 2 

Reformation 3 

Toleration 6 

Arminianism 8 

English  Rationalists 9 

II.    The  Liberal  Side  of  Puritanism IG 

The  Church  of  Authority  and  the  Church  of 

Freedom 17 

Seventeenth-century  Liberals 23 

Growth  of  Liberty  in  Church  Methods  ....  27 

A  Puritan  Rationalist 30 

Harvard  College 35 

III.  The  Growth  of  Democracy  in  the  Churches,  37 

Arminianism 37 

The  Growth  of  Arminianism 38 

Robert  Breck 40 

Books  Read  by  Liberal  Men 44 

The  Great  Awakening 46 

Cardinal  Beliefs  of  the  Liberals 48 

Publications  defining  the  Liberal  Beliefs    ...  49 

Phases  of  Religious  Progress 52 

IV.  The  Silent  Advance  of  Liberalism     ....  55 

Subordinate  Nature  of  Christ 56 

Some  of  the  Liberal  Leaders 58 

The  First  Unitarian 62 

A  Pronounced  Universalist ;     .    .  66 

Other  Men  of  Mark 69 

The  Second  Period  of  Revivals 73 

King's  Chapel  becomes  Unitarian 76 

Other  Unitarian  Movements 80 

Growth  of  Toleration 85 


Vlll  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

v.    The  Period  of  Controveksy 92 

The  Monthly  Anthology 95 

Society    for    Promoting   Christian   Knowledge, 

Piety,  and  Charity 96 

General  Repository 97 

The  Christian  Disciple 99 

Dr.  Morse  and  American  Unitarianism  ....  101 

Evangelical  Missionai-y  Society 104 

The  Berry  Street  Conference 100 

The  Publishing  Fund  Society 107 

Harvard  Divinity  School 108 

The  Unitarian  Miscellany Ill 

The  Christian  Register 114 

Results  of  the  Division  in  Congregationalism      .  117 

Final  Separation  of  State  and  Church     ....  120 

VI.     The  American  Unitarian  Association      .     .     .  124 

Initial  Meetings 127 

Work  of  the  First  Year 139 

Work  of  the  First  Quarter  of  a  Century       .     .     .  142 

Publication  of  Tracts  and  Books 145 

Domestic  Missions 149 

VII.    The  Period  of  Radicalism 155 

Depression  in  Denominational  Activities    .     .     .  158 

Publications 162 

A  Firm  of  Publishers 165 

The  Brooks  Fund 166 

Missionary  Efforts 167 

The  Western  Unitarian  Conference 168 

The  Autumnal  Conventions 173 

Influence  of  the  Civil  War 176 

The  Sanitary  Commission 178 

Results  of  Fifteen  years 184 

VIII.    The  Denominational  Awakening 187 

The  New  York  Convention  of  1865 190 

New  Life  in  the  Unitarian  Association  ....  196 

The  New  Theological  Position 197 

Organization  of  the  Free  Religious  Association,  202 

Unsuccessful  Attempts  at  Reconciliation   .     .     .  204 

The  Year  Book  Controversy 207 

Missionary  Activities 212 


CONTENTS  IX 

PAGE 

College  Town  Missions 214 

Theatre  Preaching 215 

Organization  of  Local  Conferences 217 

Fellowship  and  Fraternity 219 

Results  of  the  Denominational  Awakening     .     .  221 

IX.    Growth  of  Denominational  Consciousness     .  224 

'■'■  The  Western  Issue  " 225 

Fellowship  with  Universalists 230 

Officers  of  the  American  Unitarian  Association,  231 
The  American  Unitarian  Association  as  a  Rep- 
resentative Body 232 

The  Church  Building  Loan  Fund 234 

The  Unitarian  Building  in  Boston 234 

Growth  of  the  Devotional  Spirit 240 

The  Seventy-fifth  Anniversary 244 

X.     The  Ministry  at  Large 247  V^ 

Association  of  Young  Men 247 

Preaching  to  the  Poor 249 

Tuckerman  as  Minister  to  the  Poor 250 

Tuckerman's  Methods 252 

Organization  of  Charities 254 

Benevolent  Fraternity  of  Churches 256 

Other  Ministers  at  Large 257 

Ministry  at  Large  in  Other  Cities 258 

XI,     Organized  Sunday-school  Work 262 

Boston  Sunday  School  Society 265 

Unitarian  Sunday  School  Society 270 

Western  Unitarian  Sunday  School  Society      .     .  276 

Unity  Clubs 278 

The    Ladies'     Commission    on    Sunday-school 

Books 279 

XII.    The  Women's  Alliance  and  its  Predecessors,  282 

Women's  Western  Unitarian  Conference     .     .     .  284 

Women's  Auxiliary  Conference 286 

The  National  Alliance 287 

Cheerful  Letter  and  Post-office  Missions     .     .     .  288 

Associate  Alliances 291 

Alliance  Methods 293 


XIII. 


XIV. 


>Av. 


\/XVI. 


XVII. 


^XVIII. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Missions  to  India  and  Japan 295 

Society  respecting  the  State  of  Religion  in  India,  296 

Dall's  Work  in  India 298 

Recent  Work  in  India 301 

The  Beginnings  in  Japan 303 

The  Meadville  Theological  School    ....  310 

The  Beginnings  in  Meadville 311 

The  Growth  of  the  School 317 

Unitarian  Philanthkopies 321 

Unitarian  Charities 322 

Education  of  the  Blind 325 

Care  of  the  Insane 328 

Child-saving  Missions 331 

Care  of  the  Poor 334 

Humane  Treatment  of  Animals 335 

Young  Men's  Christian  Unions 336 

Educational  Work  in  the  South 338 

Educational  Work  for  the  Indians 340 

Unitarians  and  Reforms 343 

Peace  Movement 343 

Temperance  Reform 349 

Anti-slavery 353 

The  Enfranchisement  of  Women 368 

Civil  Service  Reform 372 

Unitarian  Men  and  Women 376 

Eminent  Statesmen 377 

Some  Representative  Unitarians 380 

Judges  and  Legislators 382 

Boston  Unitarianism 383 

Unitarians  and  Education 389 

Pioneers  of  the  Higher  Criticism 389 

The  Catholic  Influence  of  Harvard  University    .  395 

The  Work  of  Horace  Mann 399 

Elizabeth  Peabody  and  tlie  Kindergarten  .     .     .  402 

Work  of  Unitarian  Women  fur  Education  .     .     .  403 

Popular  Education  and  Public  Libraries     .     .     .  407 

Mayo's  Southern  Ministry  of  Education      .     .     .  410 


CONTENTS  XI 

PAGE 

XIX.    Unitarianism  and  Literature 412 

Influence  of  Unitarian  Environment 413 

Literary  Tendencies 415 

Literary  Tastes  of  Unitarian  Ministers  ....  416 

Unitarians  as  Ilistorians 422 

Scientific  Unitarians 427 

Unitarian  Essayists 428 

Unitarian  Novelists 429 

Unitarian  Artists  and  Poets 430 

XX.    The  Future  of  Unitarianism 436 

Appendix. 

A.  Formation  of  the  Local  Conferences 444 

B.  Unitarian  Newspapers  and  Magazines 447 


UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA. 
A  HISTORY    OF  ITS  ORIGIN   AND    DEVELOPMENT. 


I. 

INTRODUCTION. —  ENGLISH    SOURCES    OF    AMERICAN 
UNITARIANISM. 

The  sources  of  American  Unitarianism  are  to  be 
found  in  the  spirit  of  individualism  developed  by  the 
Renaissance,  the  tendency  to  free  inquiry  that  mani- 
fested itself  in  the  Protestant  Reformation,  and  the 
general  movement  of  the  English  churches  of  the 
seventeenth  century  toward  toleration  and  rationahsm.5 
The  individuaUsm  of  modern  thought  and  life  first 
found  distinct  expression  in  the  Renaissance ;  and  it 
was  essentially  a  new  creation,  and  not  a  revival.  Hith- 
erto the  tribe,  the  city,  the  nation,  the  guild,  or  the 
church,  had  been  the  source  of  authority,  the  centre  of 
power,  and  the  giver  of  hfe.  Although  Greece  showed 
a  desire  for  freedom  of  thought,  and  a  tendency  to  rec- 
ognize the  worth  of  the  individual  and  his  capacity  as  a 
discoverer  and  transmitter  of  truth,  it  did  not  set  the 
individual  mmd  free  from  bondage  to  the  social  and 
political  power  of  the  city.  Socrates  and  Plato  saw 
somewhat  of  the  real  worth  of  the  individual,  but  the 
great  mass  of  the  people  were  never  emancipated  from 
the  old  tribal  authority  as  inherited  by  the  city-state ; 


A  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

and  not  one  of  the  great  dramatists  had  conceived  of 
the  significance  of  a  genuine  individualism.* 

The  Renaissance  advanced  to  a  new  conception  of 
the  worth  and  the  capacity  of  the  individual 
mind,  and  for  the  first  time  in  history  rec- 
ognized the  full  social  meaning  of  personahty  in  man. 
It  sanctioned  and  authenticated  the  right  of  the  indi- 
vidual to  think  for  himself,  and  it  developed  clearly  the 
idea  that  he  may  become  the  transmitter  of  valid  revela- 
tions of  spiritual  truth.  That  God  may  speak  through 
individual  intuition  and  reason,  and  that  this  inward 
revelation  may  be  of  the  liighest  authority  and  worth, 
was  a  conception  first  brought  to  distinct  acceptance  by 
the  Renaissance. 

A  marked  tendency  of  the  Reformation  which  it  re- 
ceived from  the  Renaissance  was  its  acceptance  of  the 
free  spirit  of  individualism.  The  Roman  Church  had 
taught  that  all  vahd  religious  truth  comes  to  mankind 
through  its  own  corporate  existence,  but  the  Reformers 
insisted  that  truth  is  the  result  of  individual  insight  and 
investigation.     The  Reformation  magnified  the  worth  of 

*  Paul  Lafargue,  The  Evolution  of  Property  from  Savagery  to  Civili- 
zation, 18,  19.  "If  the  savage  is  incapable  of  conceiving  the  idea  of  indi- 
vidual possession  of  objects  not  incorporated  with  his  person,  it  is  because 
he  has  no  conception  of  Ms  individuality  as  distinct  from  the  consanguine 
grroup  in  which  he  lives.  .  .  .  Savages,  even  though  individually  completer 
beings,  seeing  that  they  are  self-sufHcing,  than  are  civilized  persons,  are  so 
thoroughly  identified  with  their  hordes  and  clans  that  their  individuality 
does  not  make  itself  felt  either  in  the  family  or  in  property.  The  clan 
was  all  in  all :  the  clan  was  the  family ;  it  was  the  clan  that  was  the 
OAvner  of  property."  Also  W.  M.  Sloan,  The  French  Revolution  and  Re- 
ligious Reform,  .'!S.  "  Li  tlie  Greek  and  Roman  world  the  individual,  body, 
mind,  and  soid,  had  no  place  in  reference  to  the  state.  It  was  only  as  a 
member  of  family,  gens,  curia,  phratry,  or  deme,  and  tribe,  that  the  an- 
cient city-state  knew  the  men  and  women  which  composed  it.  Tlie  same 
was  true  of  knowledge :  every  sensation,  perception,  and  judgment  fell 
into  the  category  of  some  abstraction,  and,  instead  of  concrete  things,  men 
knew  nothing  but  generalized  ideals." 


INTRODUCTION  6 

personality,  and  made  it  the  central  force  in  all  human 
effort.*  To  gain  a  positive  personal  life,  one  of  free  in- 
itiative power,  that  may  in  itself  become  creative,  and 
capable  of  bringing  truth  and  life  to  larger  issues,  was 
the  chief  motive  of  the  Protestant  leaders  in  their  work 
of  reformation.  The  result  was  that,  wherever  genuine 
Protestantism  appeared,  it  manifested  itself  by  its  atti- 
tude of  free  inquiry,  its  tendency  to  emphasize  individ- 
ual life  and  thought,  and  its  break  with  the  traditions 
of  the  past,  whether  in  literature  or  in  religion.  The 
Reformation  did  not,  however,  bring  the  principle  of  in- 
dividuality to  full  maturity ;  and  it  retained  many  of  the 
old  institutional  methods,  as  well  as  a  large  degree  of 
their  social  motive.  The  Reformed  churches  were  often 
as  autocratic  as  the  Catholic  Church  had  been,  and  as  lit- 
tle inchned  to  approve  of  individual  departures  from 
their  creeds  and  disciplines ;  but  the  motive  of  individ- 
uahsm  they  had  adopted  in  theory,  and  could  not  wholly 
depart  from  in  practice.  Their  merit  was  that  they  had 
recognized  and  made  a  place  for  the  principle  of  individ- 
uality ;  and  it  proved  to  be  a  developing  social  power, 
however  much  they  might  ignore  or  try  to  suppress  it. 
In  its  earliest  phases  Protestantism  magnified  the  im- 
portance of  reason  in  religious  investitya- 
Reformation.        .  ,,,         ,    .,  ,         •  ^  ,     -, 

tions,  although  it  used  an  imperiect  method 

in  so  doing.     All  doctrines  were  subjected  more  or  less 

•Francesco  S.  Nitti,  Catholic  Soeialismi  74,  85,  8(i.  "If  we  consider 
the  teachings  of  the  Gospel,  the  communistic  orifjins  of  the  church,  the  so- 
cialistic tendencies  of  the  early  fathers,  the  traditions  of  the  Canon  Law, 
wo  cannot  wonder  that  at  the  prpsent  day  Socialism  should  count  no  small 
number  of  its  adherents  among  Catholic  writers.  .  .  .  The  Keforination  was 
the  triumph  of  Individualism.  Catholicism,  instead,  is  communistic  by  it8 
origin  and  traditions.  .  .  .  Tlie  Catholic  Church,  with  her  powerful  org.'.a- 
ization,  dating  Ijack  over  many  centiiric^s,  has  accustomed  Catholic  peoples 
to  passive  oliediiiuce,  to  a  pa.ssive  renunciation  of  the  greater  part  of  indi- 
vidualistic tendencies." 


4  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

faitlifuUy  to  this  test,  every  rite  was  criticised  and  rein- 
terpreted, and  the  Bible  itself  was  handled  in  the  freest 
manner.  The  individualism  of  the  movement  showed 
itself  in  Luther's  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith,  and 
his  confidence  in  the  validity  of  personal  insight  into 
spiritual  realities.  Most  of  all  this  tendency  mani- 
fested itself  in  the  assertion  of  the  right  of  every  be- 
liever to  read  the  Bible  for  himself,  and  to  interpret 
it  according  to  his  own  needs.  The  vigorous  assertion 
of  the  right  to  the  free  interpretation  of  the  Word 
of  God,  and  to  personal  insight  into  spiritual  truth, 
led  their  followers  much  farther  than  the  first  re- 
formers had  anticipated.  Individualism  showed  itself 
in  an  endless  diversity  of  personal  opinions,  and  in  the 
creation  of  many  little  groups  of  believers,  who  were 
drawn  together  by  an  interest  in  individual  leaders  or 
by  a  common  acceptance  of  hair-splitting  interpretations 
•of  religious  truths.* 

iThe  Protestant  Church  inculcated  the  law  of  individ- 
ual fidelity  to  God,  and  declared  that  the  highest  obliga- 
tion is  that  of  personal  faith  and  purity.  What  sepa- 
rated the  Catholic  and  the  Protestant  was  not  merely 
a  question  of  socialism  as  against  individualism,!  but 
it  was  also  a  problem  of  outward  or  inward   law,   of 

*  See  David  Masson,  Life  of  John  Milton,  III.  136 ;  John  Tiilloeh, 
Rational  Theology  and  Christian  Philosophy  in  England,  II.  9  ;  John 
Hunt,  Religious  Thought  in  England,  I.  234. 

t  The  word  socialism  is  not  used  here  with  any  understanding  that  the 
Catholic  Church  accepts  the  social  theories  implied  by  that  name.  It  is 
used  to  indicate  that  the  Roman  Church  maintains  that  revelation  is  to  the 
church  itself ,  and  that  it  is  now  tlie  visible  representative  of  Christ.  The 
Protestant  maintains  that  revelation  is  made  through  an  individual,  and 
not  to  a  church.  See  Otto  Gierke,  Political  Theories  of  the  Middle  Age, 
translated  by  F.  W.  Maitland,  10,  22.  "In  all  centuries  of  the  Middle  Age 
Christendom  is  set  before  us  a  single,  universal  community,  founded  and 
governed  by  God  himself.  Mankind  is  one  mystical  body  ;  it  is  one  single 
and  internally  connected  people  or  fold  ;  it  is  an  all-embracing  corporation, 


INTRODUCTION  5 

environment  or  intuition  as  the  source  of  wholesome 
teaching,  of  ritualism  or  belief  as  the  higher  form  of 
religious  expression.!  The  Protestants  held  that  be- 
lief is  better  than  ritual,  faith  than  sacraments,  inward 
authority  than  external  force.  They  insisted  that  the 
individual  has  a  right  to  think  his  own  thoughts  and  to 
pray  his  own  prayer,  and  that  the  revelation  of  the  Su- 
preme Good  Will  is  to  all  who  inwardly  bear  God's 
image  and  to  every  one  whose  will  is  a  centre  of  new 
creative  force  in  the  world  of  conduct.  They  affirmed 
that  the  individual  is  of  more  worth  than  the  social  or- 
ganism, the  soul  than  the  church,  the  motive  than  the 
conduct,  the  search  for  truth  than  the  truth  attained. 
These  tendencies  of  Protestantism  found  expression 
in  the  rationalism  that  appeared  in  England  at  the 
time  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  especially  at  the  Res- 
toration. All  the  men  of  broader  temper  proclaimed 
the  use  of  reason  in  the  discussion  of  theological  prob- 
lems. In  their  opinion  the  Bible  was  to  be  interpreted 
as  other  books  are,  while  with  regard  to  doctrines  there 
must  be  compromise  and  latitude.  We  find  such  a 
theologian  as  Cliillingworth  recognizing  "  the  free  right 
of  the  indi\ddual  reason  to  interpret  the  Bible."  *  To 
such  men  as  Milton,  Jeremy  Taylor,  and  Locke  the  free 
spirit  was  essential,  even  though  they  had  not  become 
rationalists  in  the  modern   philosophical  sense.     They 

■which  constitutes  that  Universal  Realm,  spiritual,  and  temporal,  which 
may  be  called  the  Universal  Church,  or,  with  equal  propriety,  the  Com- 
monv/ealth  of  the  Human  Race.  ,  .  .  Mediaeval  thought  proceeded  from 
the  idea  of  a  single  whole.  Therefore  an  organic  construction  of  human 
society  was  as  familiar  to  it  as  a  mechanical  and  atomistic  construction  was 
originally  alien.  Under  the  inflaence  of  biblical  allegories  and  the  models 
set  l)y  Greek  and  Roman  writers,  the  comparison  of  mankind  at  large  and 
every  smaller  group  to  an  animate  body  was  universally  adopted  and 
pressed.  Mankind  in  its  totality  was  conceived  as  an  Organism." 
•Tulloch,  Rational  Tlieology  in  England,  I.  .3:^9. 


b  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

were  slow  to  discard  tradition,  and  they  desired  to  estab- 
llisli  the  validity  of  the  Bible  ;  but  they  would  not  ac- 
cept any  authority  until  it  had  borne  the  test  of  as 
thorough  an  investigation  as  they  could  give  it.  The 
methods  of  rationaUsm  were  not  yet  understood,  but 
the  rational  spirit  had  been  accepted  with  a  clear  appre- 
hension of  its  significance. 

Toleration  had  two  classes  of  advocates  in  the  seven- 
teenth century , —  on  the  one  hand,  the  minor  and  perse- 
cuted sects,  and,  on  the  other,  such  of  the  great  leaders 
of  rehgious  opinion    as  Milton  and  Locke.     The  first 

clear  assertion  of  the  modern  idea  of  tolera- 
Toleration.      ^.  i     i       .i        .      ,  ,-  ^^  -, 

tion  was  made  by  the  Anabaptists  oi  Hol- 
land, who  in  1611  put  into  their  Confession  of  Faith 
this  declaration  of  the  freedom  of  religion  from  all  state 
regulation :  "  The  magistrate  is  not  to  meddle  with  re- 
ligion, or  matters  of  conscience,  nor  compel  men  to  this 
or  that  form  of  religion,  because  Christ  is  King,  and 
Lawgiver  of  the  church  and  conscience."  When  the 
Baptists  appeared  in  England,  they  advocated  this 
principle  as  the  one  which  ought  to  control  in  the 
relations  of  church  and  state.  Li  1614  there  was  pub- 
lished in  London  a  little  tract,  written  by  one  Leonard 
Busher,  a  poor  laborer,  and  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church  that  had  recently  been  organized  there.  The 
writer  addressed  the  King  and  Parliament  with  a  state- 
ment of  his  conviction  "  that  by  fire  and  sword  to 
constrain  princes  and  peoples  to  receive  that  one  true 
religion  of  the  Gospel  is  wholly  against  the  mind  and 
merciful  law  of  Christ."  *  He  went  on  to  say  that  no 
king  or  bishop  is  able  to  command  faith,  that  it  is  mon- 
strous for  Christians  to  vex  and  destroy  each  other  on 
account  of  religious  differences. 

*  David  Masson,  Life  of  Milton,  III.  102. 


INTRODUCTION  7 

The  leading  Protestant  bodies,  especially  the  estab- 
lished churches,  still  held  to  the  corporate  idea  of  the 
nature  of  religious  institutions  ;  and,  although  they  had 
rejected  the  domination  of  the  Roman  Church,  they 
accepted  the  control  of  the  state  as  essential  to  the 
purity  of  the  church.  This  half-way  retention  of  the 
corporate  spirit  made  it  impossible  for  any  of  the  lead- 
ing churches  to  give  recognition  to  the  full  meaning  of 
the  Protestant  idea  of  the  worth  of  the  individual  soul, 
and  its  right  to  communicate  directly  with  God.  It 
remained  for  the  persecuted  Baptists  and  Independents, 
too  feeble  and  despised  to  aspire  to  state  influence,  to 
work  out  the  Protestant  principle  to  its  full  expres- 
sion in  the  spirit  of  toleration,  to  declare  for  liberty  of 
conscience,  the  voluntary  maintenance  of  worship,  and 
the  separation  of  church  and  state. 

After  the  Restoration,  and  again  after  the  enthrone- 
ment of  William  and  Mary,  it  became  a  serious  practical 
problem  to  establish  satisfactory  relations  between  the 
various  sects.  All  who  were  not  sectarian  fanatics  saw 
that  some  kind  of  compromise  was  desirable,  and  the 
more  liberal  wished  to  include  all  but  the  most  extreme 
phases  of  belief  within  the  national  church.  When 
that  national  church  was  finally  established  on  the  lines 
which  it  has  since  retained,  and  numerous  bodies  of 
dissenters  found  themselves  compelled  to  remain  out- 
side, toleration  became  more  and  more  essential,  in 
order  that  the  nation  might  live  at  peace  with  itself. 
From  generation  to  generation  the  dissenters  were  able 
to  secure  for  themselves  a  larger  recognition,  disabilities 
were  removed  as  men  of  all  sects  saw  that  restrictions 
were  useless,  and  toleration  became  the  established 
law  in  the  relations  of  the  various  religious  bodies  to 
each  other. 


8  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

The  conditions  which  led  to  toleration  also  developed 

a  hberal  interpretation  of  the  relations  of 
Arminianism.       ^        ^        ^         \ 

the  church  to  the  people,  a  broader  expla- 
nation of  doctrines,  and  a  rational  insight  into  the  prob- 
lems of  the  religious  life.  One  phase  of  this  more  com- 
prehensive religious  spirit  was  shown  in  Arminianism, 
which  was  nothing  more  than  an  assertion  of  individu- 
ahsm  in  the  sphere  of  man's  relations  to  God.  Calvin- 
ism maintained  that  man  cannot  act  freely  for  himself, 
that  he  is  strictly  under  the  sovereignty  of  the  Divine 
Will.  The  democratic  tendency  in  Holland,  where 
Arminianism  had  its  origin,  expressed  itself  in  the 
declaration  that  every  man  is  free  to  accept  or  to 
reject  religious  truth,  that  the  will  is  individual  and 
self-assertive,  and  that  the  conscience  is  not  bound. 
Arminius  and  his  coworkers  accepted  what  the  early 
Protestant  movement  had  regarded  as  essential,  that 
religion  should  be  always  obedient  to  the  rational  spirit, 
that  nature  should  be  the  test  in  regard  to  all  which 
affects  human  conduct,  and  that  the  critical  spirit  ought 
to  be  applied  to  dogma  and  Bible.  Arminius  reasserted 
this  freedom  of  the  human  spirit,  and  vindicated  the 
right  of  the  individual  mind  to  seek  God  and  his  truth 
wherever  they  may  be  found. 

As  Protestantism  became  firmly  estabhshed  in  Eng- 
land, and  the  nation  accepted  its  mental  and  moral  atti- 
tude without  reserve,  what  is  known  as  Arminianism 
came  to  be  more  and  more  prevalent.  Tliis  was  not  a 
body  of  doctrines,  and  it  was  in  no  sense  a  sectarian 
movement :  it  was  rather  a  mental  temper  of  openness 
and  freedom.  In  a  word,  Arminianism  became  a  method 
of  religious  inquiry  that  appealed  to  reason,  nature,  and 
the  needs  of  man.     It  put  new  emphasis  on  the  intel- 


INTRODUCTION  \f 

lectual  side  of  religion,  and  it  developed  as  a  moral  pro- 
test against  the  harsher  features  of  Calvinism,  It  gave 
to  human  feelings  the  right  to  express  themselves  as 
elements  in  the  problem  of  man's  relations  to  God,  and 
vindicated  for  God  the  right  to  he  deemed  as  sympa- 
thetic and  loving  as  the  men  who  worship  him. 

While  the  Arminians  accepted  the  Bible  as  an  au- 
thoritative standard  as  fully  as  did  the  Calvinists,  they 
were  more  critical  in  its  study:  they  apphed  literary 
and  historical  standards  in  its  interpretation,  and  they 
submitted  it  to  the  vindication  of  reason.  They  sought 
to  escape  from  the  tyranny  of  the  Bible,  and  yet  to 
make  it  a  living  force  in  the  world  of  conduct  and  char- 
acter. They  not  only  declared  anew  the  right  of  pri- 
vate judgment,  but  they  wished  to  make  the  Bible  the 
source  of  inward  spiritual  illumination, —  not  a  standard 
and  a  test,  but  an  awakener  of  the  divine  life  in  the 
soul.  They  sought  for  what  is  really  essential  in  relig- 
ious truth,  hmited  the  number  of  dogmas  that  may  be 
regarded  as  requisite  to  the  Christian  life,  and  took  the 
position  that  only  what  is  of  prime  importance  is  to  be 
required  of  the  behever.  The  result  was  that  Armin- 
ianism  became  a  positive  aid  to  the  growth  of  toleration 
in  England ;  for  it  became  what  was  called  latitudinar 
rian, —  that  is,  broad  in  temper,  inclusive  in  spirit,  and 
desirous  of  bringing  all  the  nation  within  the  hmits  of 
one  harmonizing  and  noble-minded  church. 

It  was  in  such  tendencies  as  these,  as  they  were  de- 
veloped   in    Holland    and    England,    that 

°?. "  ,.  ^      American  Unitarianism  had  its  origin.     To 
Rationalists.  ° 

show  how  true  this  is,  it  may  be  desirable 
to  speak  of  a  few  of  the  men  whose  books  were  most 
frequently  read  in  New  England  during  the  eighteenth 
century. 


10  I/NITAEIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

The  prose  writings  of  Milton  exerted  great  influence 
in  favor  of  toleration  and  in  vindication  of  reason. 
Without  doubt  he  became  in  his  later  years  a  behever 
in  free  will  and  the  subordinate  nature  of  Christ,  and 
he  was  true  to  the  Protestant  ideal  of  an  open  Bible 
and  a  free  spirit  in  man.  Known  as  a  Puritan,  his 
pleas  for  toleration  must  have  been  read  with  confi- 
dence by  his  coreligionists  of  New  England ;  while 
his  rational  temper  could  not  have  failed  to  have  its 
effect. 

His  vindication  of  the  Bible  as  the  religion  of  Prot- 
estants must  have  commended  Chillingworth  to  the 
liberal  minds  in  New  England ;  and  there  is  evidence 
that  he  was  read  with  acceptance,  although  he  was  of 
the  established  church.  Cliillingworth  was  of  the  no- 
blest type  of  the  latitudinarians  in  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land during  the  first  half  of  the  seventeenth  century ; 
for  he  was  generously  tolerant,  his  mind  was  broad  and 
hberal,  and  he  knew  the  true  value  of  a  really  compre- 
hensive and  inclusive  church,  which  he  earnestly  desired 
should  be  estabhshed  in  England.  He  wished  to  have 
the  creed  reduced  to  the  most  hmited  proportions  by 
giving  emphasis  to  what  is  fundamental,  and  by  the  ex- 
trusion of  all  else.  It  was  his  desire  to  maintain  what 
is  essential  that  caused  him  to  say :  "  I  am  fully  assured 
that  God  does  not,  and  therefore  that  man  ought  not, 
to  require  any  more  of  any  man  than  this  —  to  beheve 
the  Scripture  to  be  God's  word,  to  endeavor  to  find  the 
true  sense  of  it,  and  to  live  according  to  it."  * 

He  would  therefore  leave  every  man  free  to  inter- 
pret the  Bible  for  himself,  and  he  would  make  no  dog- 
matic test  to  deprive  any  man  of  this  right.    The  chief 

*  The  Religion  of  Protestants,  II.  411. 


INTRODUCTION  11 

fact  in  the  Bible  being  Christ,  he  insisted  that  Chris- 
tianity is  k)yalty  to  his  spirit.  "To  beheve  only  in 
Christ"  is  his  definition  of  Christianity,  and  he  would 
add  nothing  to  this  standard.  He  would  put  no  church 
or  creed  or  council  between  the  individual  soul  and 
God ;  and  he  would  direct  every  believer  to  the  Bible 
as  the  free  and  open  way  of  the  soul's  access  to  divine 
truth.  He  found  that  the  religion  of  Protestants  con- 
sisted in  the  rational  use  of  that  book,  and  not  in  the 
teachings  of  the  Reformers  or  in  the  confessions  they 
devised.  It  is  the  great  merit  of  Chillingworth  that  he 
vindicated  the  spirit  of  toleration  in  a  broad  and  noble 
manner,  that  he  was  without  sectarian  prejudice  or  nar-  / 

rowness  in  his  desire  for  an  inclusive  church,  and  that 
he  spoke  and  wrote  in  a  truly  rational  temper.     He  ap-         j 
plied  reason  to  all  religious  problems,  and  he  regarded         \ 
it  as  the  final  judge  and   arbiter.     Religious  freedom  \ 

received  from  him  the  fullest  recognition,  and  no  one 
has  more  clearly  indicated  the  scope  and  purpose  of 
toleration. 

Another  English  religious  leader,  much  read  in  New 
England,  was  Archbishop  Tillotson.     It  has  been  said  of 
him  that  "for  the  first  time  since  the  Reformation  the 
voice  of  reason  was  now  clearly  heard  in  the  high  places 
of  the  church."  *     He  was  an  Arminian  in  his  sympa- 
thies, and  held  that  the  way  of  salvation  is  open  to  all 
who  choose  to  accept  its  opportunities.     He  expressed 
himself  as  being  as  certain  that  the  doctrine  of  eternal  j 
decrees  is  not  of  God  as  he  was  sure  that  God  is  good  j 
and  just.     His  ground  for  this   opinion  was  that  it  is  ' 
repugnant  to  the  convictions  of  justice  and  goodness 
natural  to  men.     He  maintained  that  we  shall  be  justi- 

*  John  Hunt,  Religious  Thought  in  England,  II.  W. 


12  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

fied  before  God  by  means  of  the  reformation  that  is 
wrought  in  our  own  Uves.  We  have  an  intuition  of 
what  is  right,  and  a  natui'al  capacity  for  living  justly 
and  righteously.  Experience  and  reason  he  made  con- 
comitant spiritual  forces  with  the  Bible,  and  he  held 
that  revelation  is  but  a  republication  of  the  truths  of 
natural  religion.  Tillotson  was  truly  a  broad  church- 
man, who  was  desirous  of  making  the  national  church 
as  comprehensive  as  possible ;  and  he  was  one  who 
practised  as  well  as  preached  toleration. 

Not  less  liberal  was  Jeremy  Taylor,  who  was  num- 
bered among  the  dissenters.  In  the  introduction  to 
his  Liberty  of  Prophesying  he  said,  "  So  long  as  men 
have  such  variety  of  principles,  such  several  constitu- 
tions, educations,  tempers,  and  distempers,  hopes,  in- 
terests, and  weaknesses,  degrees  of  light  and  degrees  of 
understanding,  it  was  impossible  all  should  be  of  one 
mind."  Taylor  justly  said  that  in  heaven  there  is  room 
for  all  faiths.  His  Liberty  of  Prophesying,  Chilling- 
worth's  Religion  of  Protestants,  and  Milton's  Liberty  of 
Unlicensed  Printing  are  the  great  expressions  of  the  spirit 
of  toleration  in  the  seventeenth  century.  Each  was 
broad,  comprehensive,  and  noble  in  its  plea  for  religious 
freedom.  It  has  been  said  of  Taylor  that  "  he  sets  a 
higher  value  on  a  good  life  than  on  an  orthodox  creed. 
He  estimates  every  doctrine  by  its  capacity  to  do  men 
good."  * 

Another  advocate  of  toleration  was  John  Locke, 
whose  chief  influence  was  as  a  rationalist  in  philosophy 
and  rehgion.  While  accepting  Christianity  with  simple 
confidence,  he  subjected  it  to  the  careful  scrutiny  of 
reason.      His   philosophy    awakened    the    rationalistic 

*  John  Hunt,  Religious  Thought  in  England,  I.  340. 


INTRODUCTION  13 

spirit  in  all  who  accepted  it,  so  that  many  of  his  dis- 
ciples went  much  farther  than  he  did  himself.  While 
accepting  revelation,  he  maintained  that  natural  knowl-, 
edge  is  more  certain  in  its  character.  He  taught  thatf 
the  conclusions  of  reason  are  more  important  than  any- 
thing given  men  in  the  name  of  revelation.  He  did  not 
himself  widely  depart  from  the  orthodoxy  of  his  day, 
though  he  did  not  accept  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  in 
the  most  approved  form. 

One  of  the  rationalistic  followers  of  Locke  was  Sam- 
uel Clarke,  who  attempted  to  apply  the  scientific  meth- 
ods of  Newton  to   the    interpretation    of   Christianity. 
He  tried  to  establish  faith  in  God  on  a  purely  scientific  i 
basis.     He  declared  that  goodness  does  not  exist  be-  i 
cause  God  commands  it,  but  that  he  commands  it  be-  ) 
cause  it  is  good.     He  interpreted  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity  in  a  rationahstic  manner,  holding  to  its  form,  but 
rejecting  its  substance. 

These  men  were  widely  read  in  New  England  during 
the  eighteenth  century.  In  England  they  were  ac- 
counted orthodox,  and  they  held  high  positions  either 
m  the  national  church  or  in  the  leading  dissenting  bod- 
ies. They  were  not  sectarian  or  bigoted,  they  wished 
to  give  rehgion  a  basis  in  common  sense  and  ethical  in- 
tegrity, and  they  approved  of  a  Christianity  that  is  prac- 
tical and  leads  to  noble  living. 

When  we  consider  what  were  the  relations  of  the 
colonies  to  England  during  the  first  half  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century,  and  that  the  New  England  churches 
were  constantly  influenced  by  the  religious  attitude  of 
the  mother-country,*  it  is  plain  enough  that  toleration 
and  rationalism  were  in  large  measure  received  from 

*  John  Hunt,  Religious  Thought  in  England,  I.  340. 


14  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

England.  In  the  same  school  was  learned  the  lesson 
of  a  return  to  the  simplicity  of  Christ,  of  making  him 
and  his  life  the  standard  of  Christian  fellowship.  The 
great  leaders  in  England  taught  positively  that  loyalty 
to  Christ  is  the  only  essential  test  of  Christian  duty ; 
arid  it  is  not  in  the  least  surprising  the  same  idea  should 
have  found  noble  advocacy  in  New  England.  That  a 
good  life  and  character  are  the  true  indications  of  the 
possession  of  a  saving  faith  was  a  thought  too  often 
uttered  in  England  not  to  find  advocacy  in  the  colonies. 

In  this  way  Unitarianism  had  its  origin,  in  the  teach- 
ings of  men  who  were  counted  orthodox  in  England, 
but  who  favored  submitting  all  theological  problems  to 
the  test  of  reason.  It  was  not  a  sectarian  movement 
in  its  origin  or  at  any  time  during  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tuiy  ;  but  it  was  an  eifort  to  make  religion  practical,  to 
give  it  a  basis  in  reahty,  and  to  establish  it  as  acceptable 
to  the  sound  judgment  and  common  sense  of  all  men. 
It  was  an  application  to  the  interpretation  of  theological 
problems  of  that  individuahstic  spirit  which  was  at  the 
very  source  of  Protestantism.  If  the  indi"vndual  ought 
to  interpret  the  Bible  for  himself,  so  ought  he  to  accept 
his  own  explanation  of  the  dogmas  of  the  church.  In 
so  doing,  he  necessarily  becomes  a  rationahst,  which  may 
lead  him  far  from  the  traditions  of  the  past.  If  he 
thinks  for  liimself,  there  is  an  end  to  uniformity  of 
faith  —  a  conclusion  which  such  men  as  Chillingworth 
and  Jeremy  Taylor  were  willing  to  accept ;  and,  there- 
fore, they  desired  an  all-inclusive  church,  in  order  that 
freedom  and  unity  of  faith  might  be  both  maintained. 

In  its  beginning  the  liberal  movement  in  New  Eng- 
land was  not  concerned  with  the  Trinity.  It  was  a  de- 
mand for  simplicity,  rationality,  and  toleration.     When 


INTKODUCTION  15 

it  had  proceeded  far  on  its  way,  it  was  led  to  a  consid- 
eration of  the  problem  of  the  Trinity,  because  it  did  not 
find  that  doctrine  distinctly  taught  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament. Accepting  impUcitly  the  words  of  Christ,  it 
found  him  declaring  positively  his  own  subordination 
to  the  Father,  and  prefeiTed  his  teaching  to  that  of  the 
creeds.  To  the  early  liberals  this  was  simply  a  ques- 
tion of  the  nature  of  Christ,  and  did  not  lessen  for 
them  their  implicit  faith  in  his  revelation  or  their  recog- 
nition of  the  beauty  and  glory  of  his  divine  character. 


II. 

THE   LIBERAL   SIDE   OF   PURITANISM. 

Unitarianism  was  brought  to  America  with  the  Pil- 
grims and  the  Puritans.  Its  origins  are  not  to  be  found 
in  the  religious  indifference  and  torpidity  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century,  but  in  the  individualism  and  the  rational 
temper  of  the  men  who  settled  Plymouth,  Salem,  and 
Boston.  Its  development  is  coextensive  with  the  origin 
and  growth  of  Congregationalism,  even  with  that  of 
Protestantism  itself.  So  long  as  New  England  has  been 
in  existence,  so  long,  at  least,  Unitarianism,  in  its  mo- 
tives and  in  its  spirit,  has  been  at  work  in  the  name 
of  toleration,  liberty,  and  free  inquiry. 

The  many  and  wide  divergences  of  opinion  which 
were  an  essential  result  of  the  spirit  and  methods  of 
Protestantism  were  shown  from  the  first  by  the  Pil- 
grims and  Puritans.  In  Massachusetts,  stringent  laws 
were  adopted  in  order  to  secure  miiformity  of  belief 
and  practice ;  but  it  was  never  achieved,  except  in  name. 
Antinomianism  early  presented  itself  in  Boston,  and  it 
was  quickly  followed  by  the  incursions  of  the  Baptists 
and  Friends.  Hooker  did  not  find  himself  in  sympathy 
with  the  Massachusetts  leaders,  and  led  a  considerable 
company  to  Connecticut  from  Cambridge,  Watertown, 
and  Dorchester.  Sir  Henry  Vane  could  not  always 
agree  with  those  who  guided  the  religion  and  the  poli- 
tics of  Boston;  Roger  Williams  had  another  ideal  of 
church  and  state  than  that  which  had  come  to  the 
Puritans ;  and  Sir  Richard  Saltonstall  would  not  sub- 


LIBERAL    SIDE    OF    PURITANISM  17 

mit  himself  to  the  aristocratic  methods  of  the  Boston 
preachers. 

These  are  but  a  few  of  the  many  indications  of  the 
individuahstic  spirit  that  marked  the  first  years  of  the 
Puritan  colonies.  It  was  a  part  of  the  Protestant 
inheritance,  and  was  inherent  in  the  very  nature  of  Prot- 
estantism itself.  Although  the  Puritans  had  only  in 
part,  and  with  faltering  steps,  come  to  the  acceptance 
of  the  individualistic  and  rational  spirit  in  rehgion,  yet 
they  were  on  the  way  to  it,  however  long  they  might  be 
hindered  by  an  autocratic  temper.  In  fact,  the  Puri- 
tans throughout  the  seventeenth  century  in  New  Eng- 
land were  trying  at  one  and  the  same  time  to  use 
reason  and  yet  to  cling  to  authority,  to  accept  the  Prot- 
estant ideal  and  yet  to  employ  the  Cathohc  methods 
in  state  and  church.  In  being  Protestants,  they  were 
committed  to  the  central  motive  of  individualism; 
but  they  never  consistently  turned  away  from  that 
conception  of  the  church  which  is  autocratic  and 
authoritative. 

Looked  at  from  the  modern  sociological  point  of  view, 

there  are  two  types  of  church, 
The  Church  of  Authority  ,,  ■  t  j_-  •      .  .l 

o„/i  +!,» nu  t,  ««  t:>  /  the  one  socialistic  or  mstitu- 
and  the  Church  of  Freedom. 

tional  and  the  other  individual- 
istic, the  one  making  the  corporate  power  of  the  church 
the  source  of  spiritual  life,  the  other  making  the  per- 
sonal insight  of  the  individual  man  the  fountain  of  re- 
ligious truth.  Such  a  church  as  that  of  Rome  may  be 
properly  called  sociaHstic  because  of  its  corporate 
nature,  because  it  maintains  that  revelation  is  to,  and  by 
means  of,   an   institution,   an   organic  religious  body.* 

*Kuno  Francke,  Social  Forces  in  German  Literature,  105.  "  No  medi- 
seval    man    ever  thought   of   himself  as   a   perfectly   independent    being 


18  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

Catholicism,  whether  of  Rome,  Greece,  or  England, 
makes  the  church  as  a  great  religious  corporation  the 
organ  of  religious  expression.  Such  a  corporation  is 
the  source  of  authority,  the  test  of  truth,  the  creator  of 
spiritual  ideals.  On  the  other  hand,  such  a  church  as 
the  Protestant  may  be  called  individuahstic  because  it 
makes  the  individual  the  channel  of  revelation.  It  em- 
phasizes personality  as  of  supreme  worth,  and  it  makes 
religious  institutions  of  httle  value  in  comparison. 

Practically,  the  difference  between  the  socialistic  and 
the  individualistic  church  is  as  wide  as  it  is  theoreti- 
cally. In  all  Catholic  churches  the  child  is  born  into 
the  church,  with  the  right  to  full  acceptance  into  it 
by  methods  of  tuition  and  ritual,  whatever  his  indi- 
vidual qualities  or  capacities.  In  all  distinctly  Protes- 
tant churches,  membership  must  be  sought  by  individual 
preference  or  supernatural  process.*     The  way  to  it  is 

founded  only  on  himself,  or  without  a  most  direct  and  definite  relation  to 
some  larger  organism,  be  it  empire,  church,  city,  or  guild.  No  mediseval 
man  ever  doubted  that  the  institutions  within  which  he  lived  were 
divinely  established  ordinances,  far  superior  and  quite  inaccessible  to 
his  own  individual  reason  and  judgment.  No  medieval  man  would  ever 
have  admitted  that  he  conceived  nature  to  be  other  than  the  creation  of  an 
extramundane  God,  destined  to  glorify  its  creator  and  to  please  the  eye  of 
man.  It  was  reserved  for  the  eighteenth  century  to  draw  the  last  conse- 
quences of  individualism  ;  to  see  in  man,  in  each  individual  man,  an  inde- 
pendent and  complete  entity  ;  to  derive  the  origin  of  state,  church,  and  so- 
ciety from  the  spontaneous  action  of  these  independent  individuals  ;  and  to 
consider  nature  as  a  system  of  forces  sufficient  unto  themselves.  When  we 
speak  of  individualism  in  the  declining  centuries  of  the  Middle  Ages,  we 
mean  by  it  that  these  centuries  initiated  the  movement  which  the  eight- 
eenth century  brought  to  a  climax." 

♦WiUiston  Walker,  the  Creeds  and  Platforms  of  Congregationalism, 
24(3.  "  From  the  first  the  fathers  of  New  England  insisted  that  the  chil- 
dren of  church  members  were  themselves  members,  and  as  such  were  justly 
entitled  to  those  church  privileges  which  were  adapted  to  their  state  of 
Christian  development,  of  which  the  chief  were  baptism  and  the  watchful 
discipline  of  the  church.  They  did  not  enter  the  church  by  baptism  ; 
they  were  entitled  to  baptism  because  they  were  already  members  of  the 


LIBERAL    SIDE    OF    PURITANISM  19 

through  individual  profession  of  its  creed  or  inward 
miraculous  transformation  of  character  by  the  pro- 
foundest  of  personal  experiences.  In  all  socialistic  or 
Catholic  churches  —  whether  heathen,  ethnic,  or  Chris- 
tian —  young  people  are  admitted  to  membership  after 
a  definite  period  of  training  and  an  initiation  by  means 
of  an  impressive  ritual.  In  all  Protestant  churches,  ini- 
tiation takes  place  as  the  result  of  personal  experiences 
and  mature  convictions,  and  is  therefore  usually  de- 
feiTed  until  adult  life  has  been  reached. 

When  we  bring  out  thus  distinctly  the  ideals  and 
methods  of  the  two  churches,  we  are  able  to  understand 
that  the  Puritans  were  theoretically  Protestants,  but 
that  they  practically  used  the  methods  of  the  Catholics. 
This  will  be  seen  more  clearly  when  we  take  the  indi- 
vidualistic tendencies  of  the  Puritans  into  distinct  rec- 
ognition, and  place  them  in  contrast  with  their  social- 
istic practices.  The  Puritan  churches  were  thoroughly 
individuahstic  in  their  admission  of  members,  none  being 
accepted  into  full  membership  but  those  who  had  been 
converted  by  means  of  a  personal  experience.  In  theory 
every  male  church  member  was  a  priest  and  king,  au- 
thorized to  interpret  spiritual  truth  and  to  exercise 
political  authority.  Therefore,  in  1631  the  General 
Court  of  Massachusetts  (being  the  legislative  body) 
estabUshed  the  rule  that  only  church  members  should 
exercise  the  right  of  suffrage.  This  law  was  continued 
on  the  statute  books  until  1664,  and  was  accepted  in 
practice  until  1691. 

church.  Here  then  was  an  inconsistency  in  the  application  of  the  Con- 
gregational theory  of  the  constitution  of  a  church.  While  affirming  that 
a  proper  church  consisted  only  of  those  possessed  of  personal  Christian 
character,  the  fathers  admitted  to  membership,  in  some  degree  at  least, 
those  who  had  no  claim  but  Christian  parentage."  That  is,  in  theory  they 
were  Protestants,  but  in  practice  they  were  Catholics. 


20  UNITAKIANISM    IN    AMEKIOA 

Because  the  individual  Christian  \yas  accounted  a 
priest,  however  humble  in  learning  or  social  position, 
he  had  the  right  to  join  with  others  in  ordaining  and  set- 
ting apart  to  the  ministry  of  God  the  man  who  was  to 
lead  the  church  as  its  teacher  or  pastor,  though  this  prac- 
tice was  abandoned  as  the  state-church  idea  developed,  as 
it  did  in  New  England  by  a  process  of  reaction.  Every 
man  could  read  the  Bible  for  himself,  and  give  it  such 
meaning  as  his  o^vn  conscience  and  reason  dictated. 
By  virtue  of  his  Christian  experience  he  had  the  personal 
right  to  find  in  it  his  own  creed  and  the  law  of  his  own 
conduct.  It  was  not  only  his  right  to  do  this,  but  it 
was  also  his  duty.  Revivalism  was  therefore  the  dis- 
tinct outgrowth  of  Puritanism,  the  expression  of  its  in- 
dividualistic spirit.  It  was  the  human  means  of  bring- 
ing the  individual  soul  within  reach  of  the  supernatural 
power  of  God,  and  of  facilitating  that  choice  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  by  which  one  was  selected  for  this  change  rather 
than  another.  The  means  were  social,  it  is  true  ;  but  the 
end  reached  was  absolutely  individual,  as  an  experience 
and  as  a  result  attained.  What  confirmation  was  to  the 
Catholic,  that  was  conversion  to  the  Puritan. 

The  Puritans  in  New  England,  however,  inherited 
the  older  socialism  to  so  large  an  extent  that  they  pro- 
ceeded to  establish  what  was  a  state  church  in  method, 
if  not  in  theory.  Though  they  began  with  the  idea 
that  the  churches  were  to  be  supported  by  voluntary 
contributions  (and  always  continued  that  method  in 
Boston),  yet  in  a  few  years  they  resorted  to  taxation 
for  their  maintenance,  and  enacted  stringent  laws  com- 
pelling attendance  upon  them  by  every  resident  of  a 
town,  whatever  his  beliefs  or  his  personal  interests. 
They  forbade  the  utterance  of  opinions  not  approved 


LIBERAL    SIDE    OF    PURITANISM  21 

by  the  authorities,  and  made  use  of  fines,  imprisonment, 
and  death  in  support  of  arbitrary  laws  enacted  for  this 
purpose.  These  methods  were  the  same  as  those  used 
by  the  older  socialistic  and  state  churches  to  compel  ac- 
ceptance of  their  teachings  and  practices.  They  were 
based  on  the  idea  of  the  corporate  nature  of  the  church, 
and  its  risrht  to  control  the  individual  in  the  name  of 
the  social  whole. 

The  harshness  of  the  Puritan  methods  was  the  result 
of  tliis  attempt  to  maintain  a  new  idea  in  harmony 
■with,  an  old  practice.  The  Baptists  were  consistently 
individualists  in  rejecting  infant  baptism,  accepting  con- 
version as  essential  to  church  membership,  maintaining 
freedom  of  conscience,  and  practising  toleration  as  a 
fundamental  social  law.  The  Puritans  inconsistently 
combined  conversion  and  infant  baptism, —  the  Protes- 
tant right  of  private  judgment  with  the  Catholic 
methods  of  the  state  church, —  a  democratic  theory  of 
popular  suffrage  with  a  most  aristocratic  limitation  of 
that  suffrage  to  church  members.  As  late  as  1674  only 
2,527  men  in  all  had  been  admitted  to  the  exercise  of 
the  franchise  in  Massachusetts.  One-sixth  or  one-eighth 
of  the  men  were  voters,  the  rest  were  disfranchised. 
The  church  and  the  state  were  controlled  by  this  small 
minority  in  a  community  that  was  theoretically  demo- 
cratic, both  in  religion  and  politics. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  there  began  to  be  mutterings 
against  such  restrictions.  It  shows  the  strength  of 
character  in  the  Puritan  communities  of  Massachusetts 
and  New  Haven  that  a  large  majority  of  the  men  sub- 
mitted as  long  as  they  did  to  conditions  thoroughly  un- 
democratic. As  a  political  measure,  when  the  grum- 
blings became  so  loud  as  to  be  no  longer  ignored,  what 


22  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

is  called  the  half-way  covenant  was  adopted,  by  means 
of  which  a  semi-membersliip  in  the  churches  could  be 
secured,  that  gave  the  right  of  suffrage,  but  permitted 
no  action  within  the  church  itself.*  Many  writers  on 
this  period  fail  to  understand  the  significance  of  the 
half-way  covenant ;  for  they  attribute  to  that  legislation 
the  disintegrating  results  that  followed.  They  forget 
that  these  half-members  were  not  admitted  to  any  part 
in  church  affairs;  and  they  refuse  to  see  that  the 
methods  employed  by  the  Puritans  were,  because  of 
their  exclusiveness,  of  necessity  demoralizing.  In  fact, 
the  half-way  covenant  was  a  result  of  the  disintegra- 
tion that  had  already  taken  place  as  the  issue  of  an  at- 
tempted compromise  between  the  institutional  and  the 
individualistic  theories  of  church  government. 

*The  ecclesiastical  historians  say  that  the  half-way  covenant  had  no 
effect  on  suffrage.  Dexter,  Congregationalism  as  Seen  in  its  Literature, 
468,  says  :  "I  am  aware  of  no  pi-oof  that  half-way  covenant  members  of  the 
church  by  that  relation  did  acquire  any  further  privileges  in  the  state." 
WiUiston  Walker,  New  Englander,  cclxiii.,  9.3,  February,  1892,  takes 
ground  that  "added  political  privilege  was  no  consequence  of  the  dispute." 
On  the  other  hand,  the  secular  historians  as  strongly  assert  that  the  suf- 
frage was  widened.  John  Fiske,  Beginnings  of  New  England,  250,  says  the 
haK-way  covenant  "entitled  to  the  exercise  of  political  rights  those  who 
were  unqualified  for  participation  in  the  Lord's  Supper."  Alexander 
Johnston,  Connecticut,  227,  says  "it  really  gave  every  baptized  person 
voice  in  church  government."  J.  A.  Doyle,  The  Puritan  Colonies,  IL,  98, 
asserts  that  "it  broke  down  the  hard  barrier  which  fenced  in  political 
privileges."  The  true  explanation  is  given  by  George  H.  Haynes,  Rep- 
resentation and  Suffrage  in  Massachusetts,  1620—1691,  54,  published  in 
Johns  Hopkins  University  Studies  in  Historical  and  Political  Science,  Vol. 
XXL,  Nos.  VIII.  and  IX.  Haynes  says  that  the  half-way  covenant,  as  first 
formulated  in  1657,  "  virtually  recognized  a  partial  church -membership  in 
persons  who  had  made  no  formal  profession  and  subscribed  to  no  creed.  In 
1662  the  same  opinion  was  reaffirmed  by  the  clergy,  and  the  General  Court 
ordered  the  result  of  the  Synod  to  be  printed  and  '  commended  the  same 
unto  tlie  consideration  of  all  the  churches  and  people  of  this  jurisdiction.' 
Here  ended  legislative  action  on  the  matter.  This  was  no  statiitory  change 
of  the  basis  of  the  franchise  ;  but,  as  individual  churches  gradually  adopted 
more  liberal  conditions  of  admission  and  were  therein  sanctioned  by  the 
General  Court,  it  resulted  that  the  operation  of  the  religiofhs  test  became 
less  odious  and  the  suffrage  was  not  a  little  broadened." 


LIBERAL   SIDE    OF   PURITANISM  23 

By  arbitrary  methods  the  Puritans  succeeded  in  con- 
trolling church   and   state   until   1688, 
Seventeenth.  ^^^^^  ^^^  interference   of   the    Enghsh 

century  Liberals.  '^ 

authorities  compelled  them  to  practise 

toleration  and  to  widen  the  suffrage.  The  words  of 
Sir  Richard  Saltonstall  to  John  Cotton  and  John 
Wilson  show  clearly  that  these  methods  were  not  ac- 
cepted by  all,  and  even  Saltonstall  returned  to  Eng- 
land to  escape  the  restrictions  he  condemned.  "It 
doth  not  a  little  grieve  my  spirit  to  hear  what  sad 
things  are  daily  reported  of  your  tyranny  and  persecu- 
tions in  New  England,"  he  wrote,  "  as  that  you  fine, 
whip,  and  imprison  men  for  their  consciences.  First 
you  compel  such  to  come  into  your  assemblies  as  you 
know  will  not  join  with  you  in  your  worship,  and  when 
they  show  their  dislike  thereof  or  witness  agamst  it, 
then  you  stir  up  your  magistrates  to  punish  them  for 
such  (as  you  conceive)  their  public  affronts.  Truly, 
friends,  this  your  practice  of  compelling  any  in  matters 
of  worship  to  do  that  whereof  they  are  not  persuaded 
is  to  make  them  sin,  and  many  are  made  hypocrites 
thereby,  conforming  in  their  outward  man  for  fear  of 
punishment.  We  pray  for  you  and  wish  you  prosperity 
in  every  way,  hoped  that  the  Lord  would  have  given 
you  so  much  Ught  and  love  there,  that  you  might  have 
been  eyes  to  God's  people  here,  and  not  to  practise 
those  courses  in  wilderness  which  you  went  so  far  to 
prevent.  These  rigid  ways  have  laid  you  very  low  in 
the  hearts  of  the  saints."  * 

Another   man  who  withdrew  to    England  from   the 
narrow  spirit  of  the  Puritans  was  William  Pynchon,  of 

*  Henry  Bond,  Early  Settlers  of  Watertown,  II.  916  ;  Convere  Francis, 
Historical  Sketch  of  Watertown,  135. 


24  UNITARIANIS.M    IN   AMERICA 

Springfield,  oue  of  the  best  trained  and  ablest  of  the 
early  settlers  of  Massachusetts.  In  1650  he  published 
a  book  on  the  Meritorious  Price  of  our  Redemption,  in 
which  he  denied  that  Christ  was  subject  to  the  wrath 
of  God  or  suffered  torments  in  hell  for  the  redemption 
of  men  or  paid  the  penalty  for  all  human  sins ;  but 
such  teachings  were  too  liberal  and  modern  for  the 
leaders  in  church  and  state.*  What  is  now  orthodox, 
that  Christ's  sacrifice  was  voluntary,  was  then  heretical 
and  forbidden. 

If  during  the  first  half-century  of  New  England  no 
liberahsm  found  definite  utterance,  it  was  because  of 
its  repression.  It  was  in  the  air,  even  then,  and  it 
would  have  found  expression,  had  there  been  opportun- 
ity or  invitation.  There  were  other  men  than  Will- 
iams, Saltonstall,  Pynchon,  and  Henry  Vane,  who 
believed  in  toleration,  liberty  of  conscience,  and  a 
rational  interpretation  of  religion.  In  a  limited  way 
such  men  were  Henry  Dunster  and  Charles  Chauncy, 
the  first  two  presidents  of  Harvard  College,  who  both 
rejected  infant  baptism  because  it  was  not  consistent 
with  a  converted  church  membership.  It  was  a  small 
thing  to  protest  against,  and  to  suffer  for  as  Dunster 
suffered ;  but  the  principle  was  great  for  which  he  con- 
tended, the  principle  of  individual  conviction  in  religion. 

The  better  spirit  of  the  Puritans  appears  in  such  a 
saying  as  that  of  Sir  Henry  Vane,  the  second  governor 
of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony,  that  "  all  magistrates 
are  to  fear  or  forbear  intermeddling  with  giving  rule  or 
imposing  their  own  beliefs  in  religious  matters."!      To 

*  Mason  A.  Green,  History  of  Springfield,  113;  E.  H.  Byington,  The 
Puritan  in  England  and  New  England,  185. 

t  A  Healing  Question. 


LIBERAL   SIDE   OF   PURITANISM  25 

a  similar  purport  was  the  saying  of  Thomas  Hooker, 
the  founder  of  Connecticut,  that  "the  foundation  of 
authority  is  laid  in  the  free  consent  of  the  people."  * 
In  the  writings  of  John  Robinson,  the  Pilgrim  leader, 
a  like  greatness  of  purpose  and  thought  appears,  as 
where  he  says  that  "  the  meanest  man's  reason,  specially 
in  matter  of  faith  and  obedience  to  God,  is  to  be 
preferred  before  all  authority  of  all  men."  f  Robin- 
son was  a  very  strict  Calvinist  in  doctrine ;  but  he 
was  tolerant  in  large  degree,  and  thoroughly  con- 
vinced of  the  worth  of  liberty  of  conscience.  His 
liberality  comes  out  in  such  words  as  these :  "  The 
custom  of  the  church  is  but  the  custom  of  men;  the 
sentence  of  the  fathers  but  the  opinions  of  men;  the 
determinations  of  councils  but  the  judgments  of  men."  | 
How  strong  a  beUever  in  incUvidual  reason  he  was  ap- 
pears in  this  statement :  "  God,  who  hath  made  two 
great  hghts  for  the  bodily  eye,  hath  also  made  two 
Ughts  for  the  eye  of  the  mind ;  the  one  the  Scriptures 
for  her  supernatural  light,  and  the  other  reason  for  her 
natural  light.  And,  indeed,  only  these  two  are  a  man's 
own,  and  so  is  not  the  authority  of  other  men.  The 
Scriptures  are  as  well  mine  as  any  other  man's,  and  so 
is  reason  as  far  as  I  can  attain  to  it."  §  When  he  says 
that  "the  credit  commending  a  testimony  to  others 
cannot  be  greater  than  is  the  authority  in  itself  of  him 
that  gives  it  nor  his  authority  greater  than  his  per- 
son," II  he  puts  an  end  to  all  arbitrary  authority  of 
priest  and  church, 

*  Alexander  Johnston,   Connecticut :   A    Study  of  a  Commonwealth- 
Democracy,  72,  Hooker's  sermon  preparatory  to  forming  a  government. 

t  The  Works  of  John  Robinson,  American  edition  of  1851,  I.,  53. 

t  Ibid.,  47.  §  Ibid.,  54.  ||  Ibid.,  56. 


26  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

It  will  be  seen  from  these  quotations  that  the  spirit 
of  liberality  existed  even  in  the  very  begmnings  of  New 
England,  and  in  the  convictions  of  the  men  who  were 
its  chief  prophets  and  leaders.  It  was  hidden  away  for 
a  time,  it  may  be,  though  it  never  ceased  to  find  utter- 
ance in  some  form.  The  breadth  of  the  underlying  spirit 
finds  expression  in  the  compacts  by  which  local  churches 
united  their  members.  The  liberality  was  incipient,  a 
promise  of  the  future  rather  than  a  reahzation  in  the 
present. 

The  earliest  churches  of  New  England  were  not  or- 
ganized with  a  creed,  but  with  a  covenant.  Occasionally 
there  was  a  confession  of  faith  or  a  creedal  statement ; 
but  it  was  regarded  as  quite  unnecessary  because  it  was 
implied  in  the  general  acceptance  of  the  Calvinistic  doc- 
trines, and  the  use  of  the  Cambridge  platform  or  other 
similar  document.  The  covenant  of  a  church  could  not 
be  a  statement  of  behefs,  because  it  was  a  vow  between 
Christ  and  his  church,  and  a  pledge  of  the  individual 
members  of  the  church  with  relation  to  each  other.  The 
creed  was  implied,  but  it  was  not  expressed;  and,  al- 
though all  the  churches  were  Calvinist  at  first,  the  nature 
of  the  covenant  was  such  that,  when  men  grew  liberal, 
there  was  no  written  creedal  test  by  which  they  could  be 
held  to  the  old  beliefs.  When  Calvinism  was  outgrown, 
it  could  be  slowly  and  silently  discarded,  both  by  indi- 
vidual members  of  a  church  and  by  the  church  itself, 
because  it  was  not  explicitly  contained  in  the  covenant. 
The  creed  was  rejected,  but  the  covenant  was  retained. 

As  soon  as  authority  was  withdrawn  from  the  Puri- 
tan leaders  by  the  English  crown,  the  spirit  of  hberty 
began  to  show  itself  in  many  directions.  In  a  sermon 
preached  in  1691,  Samuel  Willard,  the  minister  of  the 


LIBERAL   SIDE   OF   PURITANISM  27 

Old  South  Church  in  Boston,  and  afterwards  president 
of  Harvard  College,  gave  utterance  to  what  was  stirring 
in  many  minds  at  that  time.  He  said  that  God  "  hath 
nowhere  by  any  general  indulgence  given  away  this  lib- 
erty of  his  to  any  other  authority  in  the  world  to  have 
dominion  over  the  consciences  of  men  or  to  give  rules 
of  worship,  but  hath,  on  the  other  hand,  strongly  pro- 
hibited it  and  severely  threatened  any  that  shall  pre- 
sume to  do  it."  He  earnestly  asserted  that>  no  authority 
is  to  be  accepted  but  that  of  the  Bible,  and  that  is  to  be 
free  for  each  person's  individual  interpretation.  "  Hath 
there  not,"  Willard  questions,  "  been  too  much  of  a  pin- 
ning our  faith  on  the  credit  or  practice  of  others,  at- 
tended on  with  a  woful  neglect  to  know  what  is  the 
mind  of  Christ  ?  "  Here  was  a  spirit  that  not  many 
years  later  was  showing  itself  in  the  liberal  movement 
that  grew  into  Unitarianism.  The  effort  to  free  the  con- 
sciences of  men,  and  to  bring  all  appeals  to  the  Bible 
and  to  Christ,  was  what  gave  significance  to  the  Kberal 
movement  of  the  next  century. 

There   also  began  a  movement  to  bring  church  and 

state  mto  harmonious  relations  with 
Growth  of  Liberty  in  ,       , ,  ,  ,  ,  i       • 

ni.     u  Tur  *!.  J  each  other,  ana  to  overcome  the  m- 

Church  Methods.  _  ' 

consistency  of  being  individualist  and 
socialist  at  the  same  moment.  The  theor}*  of  conver- 
sion being  retained,  it  was  proposed  to  make  the  ordi- 
nances of  religion  free  to  all,  in  order  that  they  might 
bring  about  the  supernatural  change  that  was  desired. 
This  is  the  real  significance  of  the  position  taken  by 
Solomon  Stoddard,  of  Northampton,  who  taught  that 
the  Lord's  Supper  is  a  converting  ordinance,  and  who 
in  practice  did  not  ask  for  a  supernatural  regeneration 
as  preparatory  to  a  limited  church  membership,  though 


28  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

he  regarded  this  as  essential  to  full  admission.  The 
half-way  covenant  had  been  adopted  before  Mr.  Stod- 
dard became  the  pastor  of  the  church ;  but  soon  after 
his  settlement  this  limited  form  of  admission  was  more 
clearly  defined,  and  he  admitted  persons  into  what  he 
described  as  a  "  state  of  education."  *  This  *'  large  Con- 
gregationalism," as  it  was  called,  was  in  time  accepted 
as  meaning  that  those  who  have  faith  enough  to  justify 
the  baptism  of  their  children  have  enough  to  admit 
them  to  full  communion  in  the  church.  Mr.  Stoddard 
appealed  to  the  English  practice  in  his  defence  of  the 
broader  principle  which  he  adopted.  He  also  vindi- 
cated his  position  by  reference  to  the  practices  of  the 
leading  Protestant  countries  in  Europe.  His  methods, 
as  outlined  and  interpreted  in  his  Appeal  to  the 
Learned,!  were  based  more  or  less  explicitly  on  the 
corporate  idea  of  the  church. 

Although  Stoddard  was  a  strict  Calvinist,  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  his  method  of  open  communion  slowly 
led  to  theological  modifications.  Not  only  did  it  have 
a  tendency  to  bring  the  state  and  church  into  closer  re- 
lations with  each  other,  by  making  the  membership  in 
the  two  more  nearly  the  same,  but  it  led  the  way  to  the 
acceptance  of  the  doctrine  of  moral  ability,  and  there- 
fore to  a  modification  of  Calvinism.  If  it  was  a  prac- 
tical rather  than  a  theological  reason  that  caused  Stod- 
dard to  adopt  open  communion,  it  almost  inevitably  led 
to  Arminianism,  because  it  implied,  as  he  presented  its 
conditions,  that  man  is   able  of  his   own  free   will  to 

*  J.  R.  Trumbull,  History  of  Northampton,  I.  213. 

t  An  Appeal  to  the  Learned,  being  a  ^nndication  of  the  right  of  visible 
saints  to  the  Lord'Supper,  though  they  be  destitute  of  a  saving  work  of 
God's  Spirit  in  their  hearts,  Boston,  1709.  See  also  liis  Doctrine  of  Insti- 
tuted Churches,  Boston,  1700. 


LIBERAL   SIDE   (JF    PURITANISM  29 

accept  the  terms  of  salvation  which  Calvinism  had 
confined  to  the  operation  of  the  sovereignty  of  God 
alone. 

Another  way  in  which  the  spirit  of  the  time  was 
showing  itself  may  be  seen  in  the  fact  that  the  parish, 
towards  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century,  on  more 
than  one  occasion  refused  to  the  church  the  selection 
of  the  minister;  and  church  and  parish  met  together 
for  that  purpose.  This  was  the  case  in  the  first  church 
of  Salem  in  1672,  and  at  Dedham  in  1685.  So  long  as 
church  members  only  were  given  the  right  of  suffrage, 
the  selection  of  the  minister  was  wholly  in  their  hands. 
As  soon  as  the  suffrage  was  extended,  there  was  a 
movement  to  include  all  tax-payers  amongst  those  who 
could  exercise  this  choice.  In  1666  such  a  proposition 
was  discussed  in  Connecticut,  and  not  long  after  it 
became  the  law.  In  1692  the  Massachusetts  laws  gave 
the  church  the  right  to  select  the  minister,  but  permitted 
the  parish  to  concur  in  or  to  reject  such  choice.  During 
the  next  century  there  was  a  growing  tendency  to 
enlarge  the  privileges  of  the  parish,  and  to  make  that 
the  controlhng  factor  in  calling  the  minister  and  in  all 
that  pertained  to  the  outward  life  of  the  church  and 
congregation.  The  result  will  be  seen  more  and  more 
in  the  influence  of  the  parish  in  the  selection  of  Hberal 
men  for  the  pulpit. 

A  notable  instance  of  the  more  liberal  tendencies  is 
seen  in  the  formation  of  the  Brattle  Street  Church  of 
Boston  in  1699.  Although  this  church  accepted  the 
Westminster  Confession  of  Faith  and  adopted  the 
practices  common  to  the  New  England  churches  at  this 
period,  it  insisted  upon  the  reading  of  the  Bible  without 
comment  as  a  part  of  the  church  service.     The  relation 


30  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

of  religious  experiences  as  preparatory  to  admission  to 
the  church  was  discarded,  all  were  admitted  to  com- 
munion who  were  approved  by  the  pastor,  and  women 
were  permitted  to  take  part  in  voting  on  all  church 
questions.  These  and  other  innovations  occasioned 
much  discussion ;  and  a  controversy  ensued  between 
the  pastor  Benjamin  Colman  and  Increase  Mather.* 
The  Salem  pastors.  Rev.  John  Higginson  and  Rev. 
Nicholas  Noyes,  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Brattle  Street 
congregation,  in  which  they  criticised  the  church  be- 
cause it  did  not  consult  with  other  churches  in  its 
formation,  because  it  did  not  make  a  pubhc  profession 
of  repentance  on  behalf  of  its  members,  because  baptism 
was  administered  on  less  stringent  terms  than  was 
customary  and  too  lax  admission  was  given  to  the 
sacraments,  and  because  the  admission  of  females  to 
full  church  activity  had  a  direct  tendency  "  to  subvert 
the  order  and  liberty  of  the  churches."  Though  the 
Brattle  Street  Church  was  for  a  time  severely  criticised, 
it  soon  came  into  intimate  relations  with  the  other 
churches  of  Boston,  and  it  ceased  to  appear  as  in  any 
way  peculiar.  That  it  was  organized  on  a  broader 
basis  of  membership  indicates  very  clearly  that  the  old 
methods  were  not  satisfactory  to  all  the  people,  f 

The  influence  of  similar  ideas  is  seen  in  the  books  of 

John     Wise,    of    Ipswich,    whose 
A  Puritan  Rationalist.      ^i         ,      ,   ^  it-.  t 

Churches    Quarrel    jbspoused    was 

published  in  1710,  and  his  Vindication  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  New  England  Churches  in  1717.  His 
first  book  was  in  answer  to  the  proposition  of  a  num- 

»  Dwight,  Life  of  Edwards,  300. 

tS.  K.  Lothrop,  History  of  Brattle  Street  Church,  7-40;    E.  Turrell, 
Life  of  Benjamin  Colman,  D.D.,  96,  125,  178,  180. 


LIBERAL   SIDE   OP   PURITANISM  31 

ber  of  the  ministers  of  Boston  to  bring  the  churches 
under  the  control  of  associations.  By  this  remonstrance 
the  plan  was  defeated,  and  the  independence  of  the 
local  church  fully  established.  In  republishing  his 
book,  he  added  the  Vindication,  in  order  to  give  his 
ideas  a  more  systematic  expression.  The  Vindication 
is  the  most  thoroughly  modern  book  published  in 
America  during  the  eighteenth  century.  It  has  a  liter- 
ary directness  and  power  remarkable  for  the  time. 
Wise  gives  no  quotations  indicating  that  he  had  read 
the  great  liberal  writers  of  England,  but  he  was  familiar 
with  Plato  and  Cicero. 

In  his  first  book  he  speaks  of  "  the  natural  freedom 
of  human  beings,"  *  and  says  that  "  right  reason  is 
a  ray  of  divine  wisdom  enstamped  upon  human  nature."! 
Again,  he  says  that  "  right  reason,  that  great  oracle  in 
human  affairs,  is  the  soul  of  man  so  formed  and  en- 
dowed by  creation  with  a  certain  sagacity  or  acumen 
whereby  man's  intellect  is  enabled  to  take  up  the  true 
idea  or  perception  of  things  agreeable  with  and  accord- 
ing-to  their  natures."  $  In  such  utterances  as  these 
Wise  was  putting  himself  into  the  company  of  the  most 
liberal  minds  of  England  in  his  day,  though  he  may  not 
have  read  one  of  them.  The  considerations  that  were 
influencing  Milton,  C hilling wortli,  and  Jeremy  Taylor, 
in  favor  of  toleration  and  a  broad  inclusiveness  of  spirit, 
evidently  were  having  their  effect  upon  this  New  Eng- 
land pastor. 

It  is  not  to  be  assumed  that  John  Wise  was  a  ration- 
alist in  the  modern  sense ;  but  he  gave  to  the  use  of 
reason  a  significance  that  is  surprising  and  refreshing, 

*The  Churches'  Quarrel  Espoused,  edition  of  1860,  140. 
t  Ibid.,  14;-t.  J  Ibid.,  145. 


82  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

coming  from  the  time  and  circumstances  of  his  writing. 
In  his  Vindication  we  find  him  accepting  reason  and 
revelation  as  of  equal  validity.  He  appeals  to  the 
"dictates  of  right  reason"*  and  the  "common  reason 
of  mankind "  f  with  quite  as  much  confidence  as  to 
the  Bible.  He  says  that  all  questions  of  government, 
religious  as  well  as  pohtical,  are  to  be  brought  to  "  the 
assizes  of  man's  own  intellectual  powers,  reason,  and 
conscience."  J  He  assumes  that  God  has  created  man 
capable  of  obeying  his  will  and  living  in  conformity 
with  his  law ;  for  he  says  that,  "  if  God  did  not  highly 
estimate  man  as  a  creature  exalted  by  his  reason,  liberty, 
and  nobleness  of  nature,  he  would  not  caress  him  as  he 
does  in  order  to  his  submission."  § 

Wise  says  that  the  characteristic  of  man  which 
is  of  greatest  importance  is  that  he  is  "  most  properly 
the  subject  of  the  law  of  nature."  ||  He  uses  this 
expression  frequently  and  in  a  thoroughly  modern 
sense. 

The  second  great  characteristic  of  man,  according  to 
Wise,  "  is  an  original  liberty  enstamped  upon  liis 
rational  nature."^  He  indicates  that  he  is  not  in- 
clined to  discuss  the  merely  theological  problem  of 
man's  relations  to  God,  but,  considered  physically,  man 
is  at  the  head  of  creation,  "  and  as  such  is  a  creature  of 
a  very  noble  character."  ^  All  the  lower  world  is  sub- 
ject to  his  command,  "  and  his  liberty  under  the  con- 
duct of  right  reason  is  equal  with  his  trust."  ^  "  He 
that  intrudes  upon  this  liberty  violates  the  law  of 
nature."^  The  effect  of  such  liberty  is  not  to  lead 
man  into  license,  but  to  make  him  the  rational  master 

*The  Churches'  Quarrel  Espoused,  edition  of  1860,  32. 
t  Ibid.,  58.        t  Ibid.,  72.        §  Ibid..  05.        ||  Ibid.,  30.        11  Ibid.,  33. 


LIBERAL    SIDE    OF    PURITANISM  33 

of  his  own  conduct.  Every  man  is  therefore  at  liberty 
"  to  judge  for  himself  what  shall  be  most  for  his  behoof, 
happiness,  and  well-being."  * 

The  third  great  characteristic  of  man  is  found  in  "  an 
equality  amongst  men,"  *  which  is  to  be  respected  and 
vindicated  by  governments  that  are  just  and  humane. 
"  By  a  natural  right,"  he  says,  "  all  men  are  born  free ; 
and,  nature  having  set  all  men  upon  a  level  and  made 
them  equals,  no  servitude  or  subjection  can  be  conceived 
without  inequaUty."  f  Again  he  says  that  it  is  "  a 
fundamental  principle  relating  to  government  that, 
under  God,  all  power  is  originally  in  the  people."  J 
This  is  true  of  the  church  as  well  as  of  the  state,  and 
Wise  says  the  Reformation  was  a  cheat  and  a  schism 
and  a  notorious  rebelhon  if  the  people  are  not  the  source 
of  power  in  the  church. 

Two  other  ideas  presented  by  this  leader  show  his 
modernness  and  his  originaHty.  He  says  that  "  the  hap- 
piness of  the  people  is  the  object  of  all  government,"  § 
and  that  the  state  should  seek  to  promote  "  the  pecuhar 
good  and  benefit  of  the  whole,  and  every  particular 
member,  fairly  and  sincerely."  ||  "  The  end  of  all  good 
government,"  he  assures  his  readers,  "  is  to  cultivate  hu- 
manity, and  promote  the  happiness  of  all,  and  the  good 
of  every  man  in  all  his  rights,  his  life,  hberty,  estate, 
and  honor,  without  injury  or  abuse  done  to  any."  ||  That 
government  will  seek  the  good  of  all  is  hkely  to  be  the 
case,  because  man  has  it  as  a  fundamental  law  of  his 
nature  that  he  "maintain  a  sociableness  with  others."^ 
"  From  the  principles  of  sociableness  it  follows  as  a 
fundamental  law  of  nature  that  man  is  not  so  wedded 

•  The  Churches'  Quarrel  Espoused,  edition  of  1860,  34. 
t  Ibid.,  37.        t  Ibid.,  64.        §  Ibid.,  54.        II  Ibid.,  55.        H  Ibid.,  32. 


34  UNITAEIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

to  his  own  interest  but  that  he  can  make  the  common 
good  the  mark  of  his  aim,  and  hence  he  becomes  capaci- 
tated to  enter  into  a  civil  state  by  the  law  of  nature."  * 
This  attraction  of  man  to  his  kind  enables  him  to  yield 
so  much  of  his  freedom  as  is  necessary  to  make  the  state 
an  efficient  social  power,  "  in  which  covenant  is  included 
that  submission  and  union  of  wills  by  which  a  state  may 
be  conceived  to  be  but  one  person."  f  This  thoroughly 
modern  idea  of  the  social  body,  as  being  analogous  in 
its  nature  to  the  individual  man,  is  nobly  expressed  by 
Wise,  who  says  that  "  a  civil  state  is  a  compomid 
moral  person,  whose  will  is  the  will  of  all,  to  the 
end  it  may  use  and  apply  the  strength  and  riches  of 
private  persons  toward  maintainmg  the  common  peace, 
security,  and  well-being  of  all,  which  may  be  conceived 
as  though  the  whole  state  was  now  become  but  one 
man."  :j: 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  writings  of  John  Wise 
had  no  immediate  effect  upon  the  theological  thinking 
of  the  time,  but  they  must  have  had  their  influence. 
Just  before  the  opening  of  the  Revolution  they  were  re- 
published because  of  their  vindication  of  the  spirit  of 
human  liberty  and  democracy.  What  Wise  wrote  to 
promote  was  congregational  independence,  and  this  may 
have  been  the  reason  why  his  theological  attitude  was 
never  called  in  question.  It  is  true  enough  that  he 
questioned  none  of  the  Calvinistic  doctrines  in  his 
books;  but  his  political  views  were  certain  to  disturb 
the  old  beliefs,  and  to  give  incentives  to  free  discussion 
in  religion. 

The  centre  of  the  liberalizing  tendencies  of  the  last 

*Tlie  Churches'  Quarrel  Espoused,  edition  of  1860,  32. 
t  Ibid.,  39.         t  Ibid.,  40. 


LIBERAL   SIDE   OF   PURITANISM  35 

years  of  the  seventeenth  century  was  Harvard  College. 
That  institution  was  organized  on  a 
basis  as  broad  as  that  of  the  early  church 
covenants,  with  no  creed  or  doctrinal  requirements.  The 
original  seal  bore  the  motto  Veritas ;  but,  as  the  state- 
church  idea  grew,  this  motto  was  succeeded  by  In  Christi 
gloriam,  and  then  by  Christo  et  Ecclesiae,  though  neither 
of  these  later  mottoes  was  authoritatively  adopted.  The 
early  charters  were  thoroughly  liberal  in  spirit  and  intent, 
so  much  so  as  to  be  full}'  in  harmony  mth  the  present 
attitude  of  the  university.*  Under  the  Puritanic  devel- 
opment, however,  this  liberaUty  was  discarded,  only  to 
be  restored  in  1691,  when  William  and  Mary  gave  to 
Massachusetts  a  new  and  broader  charter.  From  that 
time  a  new  life  entered  into  the  college,  that  put  it  un- 
compromisingly on  the  liberal  side  a  century  later.  Even 
under  the  rule  of  Increase  Mather,  seconded  by  the  in- 
fluence of  his  son  Cotton,  a  broader  spirit  declared  itself 
in  the  culture  imparted  and  in  the  method  of  free  in- 
quiry, f 

Samuel  Willard,  the  successor  to  Increase  Mather  in 
the  presidency,  was  of  the  liberal  party  in  liis  breadth  of 
mind  and  in  his  sound  judgment.  He  was  followed  in 
1708  by  John  Leverett,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Brattle 
Street  Church,  a  man  in  whom  the  hberal  spirit  became 
a  controlling  motive  in  his  management  of  the  college.:^ 
It  is  not  strange  that  the  men  who  had  been  shut  out 

*  Josiah  Quincy,  History  of  Harvard  University,  i.  44-54. 

t  Ibid.,  65,  200. 

+  Josiah  Quincy,  in  the  seventh  chapter  of  his  History,  gives  a  detailed 
account  of  this  movement.  It  is  also  dealt  with  by  Brooks  Adams  in  his 
chapter  on  the  foundinfj  of  the  Brattle  Street  Church,  in  his  Emancipation 
of  Massachusetts,  though  he  gives  it  a  somewhat  exaggerated  and  biassed 
importance.  Most  of  the  facts  appear  in  Lothrop's  History  of  the  Brattle 
Street  Church. 


36  UNITAKIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

from  the  suffrage  and  from  active  participation  in  the 
management  of  the  churches,  should  now  come  forward 
to  claim  their  rights,  and  to  make  their  influence  felt  in 
college,  church,  and  state.  It  was  the  distinct  beginning 
of  the  hberal  movement  in  New  England,  the  time  from 
which  Unitarianism  really  took  its  origin. 


III. 

THE  GROWTH  OF  DEMOCRACY  IN  THE  CHURCHES. 

From  the  moment  when  the  Puritan  control  of  the 
church  and  state  in  New  England,  was  so  far  weakened 
as  to  permit  of  free  intellectual  and  religious  activity 
the  democratic  spirit  began  to  manifest  itself.  The  old 
regime  had  so  fixed  itself  upon  the  people  that  the 
progress  was  slow,  but  none  the  less  it  was  steady  and 
sure.  So  far  as  the  new  spirit  influenced  doctrines,  it 
was  called  Arminianism,  the  technical  theological  name 
for  democracy  in  religion  at  this  time. 

Arminianism  is  a  dead  issue  at  the  present  day,  for 

the   Calvinists  have   accepted   all  that  it 
Arminianism. 

taught   when    the    name    first   came   into 

vogue.  Every  kind  of  reaction  from  Calvinism  in  the 
New  England  of  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century- 
took  this  designation,  however ;  and  to  the  Calvinists  it 
was  a  word  of  disapproval  and  contempt.  Toleration, 
free  inquiry,  the  use  of  reason,  democratic  methods  in 
church  and  state,  were  all  named  by  this  condemning 
word.  Vices,  social  depravities,  love  of  freedom  and 
the  world,  assertion  of  personal  independence,  had  the 
same  designation.  It  is  now  difficult  to  understand 
how  bitter  was  the  feeling  thus  produced,  how  keen  the 
hurt  that  was  given  the  men  who  tried  to  defend  them- 
selves and  their  beliefs  from  this  odium. 

What  the  word  "  Arminian "  legitimately  meant, 
then,  is  what  we  now  mean  by  liberalism.     Primarily 


38  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

theological  and  doctrinal,  it  meant  much  more  than  the 
rejection  of  the  doctrine  of  decrees  and  the  autocratic 
sovereignty  of  God  or  the  acceptance  of  the  freedom 
of  the  will  and  the  spiritual  capacity  of  man.  First  of 
all,  it  was  faith  in  man ;  and  then  it  was  the  assertion  of 
human  liberty  and  equality.  In  a  theological  sense  it 
did  not  have  so  wide  a  purport,  but  in  a  practical  and 
popular  sense  it  grew  into  these  meanings. 

In  order  fully  to  comprehend  what  Arminianism 
was  in  the  eighteenth  century,  the  student  must  re- 
member that  it  was  the  theological  expression  of  the 
democratic  spirit,  as  Calvinism  was  of  the  autocratic. 
The  doctrine  of  the  sovereignty  of  God  is  but  the  intel- 
lectual reflection  of  kingship  and  the  behef  that  the 
king  can  do  no  evil.  The  doctrine  of  decrees,  as  taught 
by  the  Calvinist,  was  the  spiritual  side  of  the  assertion 
of  the  divine  right  of  kings.  On  the  other  hand,  when 
the  people  claim  the  right  to  rule,  they  modify  their 
theology  into  Arminianism.  From  an  age  of  the 
absolute  rule  of  the  king  comes  the  doctrine  of  human 
depravity;  and  with  the  establishment  of  democracy 
appears  the  doctrine  of  man's  moral  capacity. 

As  early  as  1730  Arminianism  had  come  to  have  an 

influence  sufficient  to  secure  its  condem- 

.      ...  nation   and  to  awaken  the  fears   of  the 

Arminianism. 

stricter  Calvinists.  Jonathan  Edwards 
said  of  the  year  1734  that  "  about  this  time  began  the 
great  noise  that  was  in  this  part  of  the  country  about  Ar- 
minianism." *  At  Northampton  the  leader  of  the  oppo- 
sition to  Jonathan  Edwards  was  an  open  Arminian,  a 
grandson  of  Solomon  Stoddard,  and  a  cousin  of  Edwards. 
He  was  a  young  man  of  talent  and  education,  and  well 

*  Narrative  of  Surprising  Conversiona,  edition  of  1808,  13. 


DEMOCKACY  IN  THE  CHURCHES         39 

read  in  theology.  In  a  letter  written  in  1750,  Edwards 
said,  "  There  seems  to  be  the  utmost  danger  that  the 
younger  generation  will  be  carried  away  with  Arminian- 
ism  as  with  a  flood."  In  another  letter  of  the  same  year 
he  said  that "  Arminianism  and  Pelagianism  *  have  made 
a  strange  progress  within  a  few  years."  f  In  his  fare- 
well sermon,  Edwards  spoke  of  the  prevalence  of 
Arminianism  when  he  settled  in  Northampton,  and  of 
its  rapid  increase  in  the  succeeding  years.  He  said 
that  Arminian  views  were  creeping  into  almost  all 
parts  of  the  land,  and  that  they  were  making  a  progress 
unknown  before.  |  In  a  letter  of  1752  Edwards  said 
that  the  principles  of  John  Taylor,  of  Norwich,  one  of 
the  early  Enghsh  Unitarians,  were  gaining  many  con- 
verts in  the  colonies.  Taylor's  works  were  made  use  of 
by  Solomon  Williams  in  his  reply  to  Edwards  on  the 
qualifications  necessary  to  communion.  § 

It  was  owing  to  the  rapid  growth  of  Arminianism 
that  Edwards  undertook  his  work  on  free  will.  In  the 
preface  to  that  work  he  said  that  "the  term  Calvinistic 
is,  in  these  days,  among  most,  a  term  of  greater  re- 
proach than  the  term  Arminian."  That  Edwards  ex- 
aggerated the  extent  of  this  defection  from  Cahdnism 
is  probable,  and  yet  it  is  very  plain  that  it  was  this 
more  hberal  attitude  of  the  Northampton  church  which 
caused  his  dismissal.  What  Stoddard  had  taught  and 
practised  was  as  yet  powerful  there,  and  Edwards's  op- 
position to  his  grandfather's  teachings  undoubtedly  led 
to  the  failure  of  his  local  work. 

*  Denial  of  original  sin,  from  Pelagius,  an  aaoetio  preacher  of  the  fifth 
century. 

t  D-n-ight,  Life  of  Ed-wards,  307,  336,  410,  413. 
t  Ibid.,  649.        §  Ibid.,  495. 


40  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

The  council  which  dismissed  Edwards  from  North- 
ampton decided  against  him  by  a  maiority 
Robert  Breck.         ,^  j^i.4.  ^  uu 

01  one ;  ana  that  one  vote  may  have  been 

cast  by  Robert  Breck,  of  Springfield.  If  this  were  the 
case,  there  was  something  of  poetic  justice  in  it;  for 
only  a  few  years  earlier  Edwards  had  used  liis  influence 
against  the  settlement  of  Breck  because  the  latter  was 
an  Arminian.  In  1734  a  tierce  church  quarrel  took 
place  in  Springfield,  that  involved  many  of  the  minis- 
ters of  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  invoked  the  aid 
of  the  county  court,  and  was  finally  settled  by  the  legis- 
lature of  Massachusetts,  when  Mr.  Breck  was  ordained.* 
He  was  charged  with  denying  the  authenticity  of  parts 
of  the  Bible,  with  discarding  the  necessity  of  Christ's 
satisfaction  to  divine  justice  for  sin,  with  maintaining 
that  the  heathen  who  live  up  to  the  light  of  nature 
would  be  saved,  and  that  tlie  contrary  doctrine  was  harsh. 
Breck  refused  to  admit  that  he  held  these  opinions,  as 
thus  stated ;  but  he  was  regarded  by  many  as  an  Armi- 
nian and  a  heretic.  It  was  said  of  him  that  he  would 
read  any  book,  orthodox  or  otherwise,  that  would  clear 
up  a  subject.  That  he  departed  to  any  considerable  ex- 
tent from  the  generally  accepted  faith  of  the  time  there 
is  no  evidence,  but  he  Avas  probably  what  was  often 
called  "a  moderate  Calvinist."  He  did  not  favor  the 
methods  of  Whitefield,  and  he  thoroughly  distrusted  the 
revival  introduced  by  him.  Soon  after  Breck's  settle- 
ment the  Springfield  church  followed  the  Brattle  Street 
Church  of  Boston  in  discarding  the  relation  of  rehgious 
experiences  as  preliminary  to  admission  to  the  church. 
It  voted  that  it  "did  not  look  upon  the  making  a  relation 
to  be  a  necessary  term  of  communion."  f     At  the  very 

*  Green,  History  of  Springfield.  t  Ibid.,  255. 


DEMOCRACY  IN  THE  CHURCHES         41 

time  that  Edwards  was  preaching  of  the  awful  fate  of 
sinners  in  the  hands  of  an  angry  God,  Breck  was  teach- 
ing that  God  is  good  and  loving,  and  that  his  salvation 
is  freely  open  to  all  who  may  wish  for  it.  It  has  been 
truly  said  of  these  two  men  that  "  one  tad  the  heart 
and  the  other  the  intellect  of  theology."  With  all  his 
logic  and  power  of  thought  and  marvellous  spiritual 
insight,  Edwards  failed  at  Northampton  because  of 
conditions  beyond  the  control  of  liis  strenuous  will. 
Robert  Breck  gained  year  by  year  in  his  personal 
influence  in  Springfield,  his  cheerful  and  progressive 
teaching  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  community, 
and  before  he  died  he  saw  a  great  change  for  the  better 
in  the  people  for  whom  he  diligently  labored.  Perhaps 
we  could  not  have  a  plainer  indication  of  the  change 
that  was  going  on  than  is  found  in  the  experiences  of 
these  two  men.* 

When  Whitefield  visited  Harvard  College  in  1740, 
he  was  received  in  a  most  friendly  manner ;  yet  he  after- 
wards criticised  the  teaching  there  on  the  ground  that 
it  was  not  sufficiently  devout  and  earnest,  and  that  the 
pupils  were  not  examined  as  to  their  religious  experi- 
ences, f  These  charges  were  denied  by  the  president 
and  tutors,  and  he  was  not  again  welcomed  to  the 
college. 

That  there  was  a  substantial  basis  for  some  of  White- 
field's  criticisms  of  Harvard  there  can  be  no  doubt.  In 
1737,  when  Edward  Holyoke  was  proposed  as  a  candi- 
date for  the  presidency,  he  met  with  a  strong  opposition 

*E.  H.  Byington,  The  Puritan  in  England  and  New  England,  devotes 
a  chapter  to  the  controversy  over  Brock's  settlement ;  but  he  does  not 
treat  of  the  theological  problems  involved. 

t  Whitefield's  Seventh  Journal,  28. 


42  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

from  the  strict  Calvinists.  After  the  opposition  had 
spent  itself,  he  was  elected  unanimously ;  and  this  act 
was  received  with  marked  approval  by  the  General 
Court,  from  which  body  his  maintenance  was  obtained. 
President  Quincy  says  of  President  Holyoke  that  his 
rehgious  principles  coincided  with  the  mildness  and 
catholicity  which  characterized  the  government  of  the 
college.  This  evidently  refers  to  the  growing  liber- 
ahty  of  the  college,  and  its  unwilhnguess  to  lend  its  aid 
to  extreme  theological  opinions.  That  moderateness  of 
temper  and  that  attitude  of  toleration  which  character- 
ized the  leading  men  in  England  had  shown  them- 
selves at  Cambridge,  and  with  a  strength  that  could  not 
be  overcome.  "  In  Boston  and  its  vicinity  and  along 
the  seaboard  of  Massachusetts,  clergymen  of  great  tal- 
ent and  religious  zeal,"  says  President  Quincy,  "  openly 
avowed  doctrines  which  were  variously  denounced  by 
the  Calvinistic  party  as  Arminianism,  Arianism,  Pela- 
gianism,  Socinianism,  and  Deism.  The  most  eminent  of 
these  clergymen  were  alumni  of  Harvard,  active  friends 
and  advocates  of  the  institution,  and  in  habits  of  inti- 
macy and  professional  intercourse  with  its  government. 
Their  religious  views,  indeed,  received  no  public  counte- 
nance from  the  college ;  but  circumstances  gave  color 
for  reports,  which  were  assiduously  circulated  through- 
out New  England,  that  the  influences  of  the  institution 
were  not  unfavorable  to  the  extension  of  such  doc- 
trines." * 

At  the  commencement  of  1737  candidates  for  degrees 
proposed  to  prove  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  was 
not  contained  in  the  Old  Testament,  that  creation  did 
not  exist  from  eternity,  and  that  rehgion  is  not  myste- 

*  History  of  Harvard  University,  52. 


DEMOCBACY  IN  THE  CHURCHES         43 

rious  in  its  nature.  Much  alarm  was  caused  to  the 
conservative  party  by  the  negative  form  given  these 
questions,  which,  it  was  said,  "  had  the  plain  face  of 
Arianism."  Tliis  criticism  the  faculty  tried  to  quiet, 
but  their  sympathies  were  evidently  on  the  side  of  the 
graduates.*  In  1738,  when  a  professor  of  mathematics 
was  chosen,  it  was  proposed  to  examine  him  as  to  "  his 
principles  of  religion " ;  but,  after  a  long  debate,  tliis 
proposition  was  rejected.  *  After  these  and  other  efforts 
to  control  the  religious  position  of  the  college  the  strict 
Calvinists  for  the  time  withdrew  their  efforts  and  con- 
centrated them  upon  Yale  College,  in  which  institution 
the  faculty  were  now  required  for  the  first  time  to 
accept  the  Assembly's  Catechism  and  Confession  of 
Faith. 

When  the  legislature  of  Connecticut,  during  the  great 
awakening,  passed  a  law  prohibiting  ministers  from 
preaching  as  itinerants,  several  of  the  members  of  the 
Senior  Class  subscribed  the  money  necessary  for  the 
publication  of  an  edition  of  Locke's  essay  On  Tolera- 
tion. When  this  was  known  to  the  faculty,  they  for- 
bade the  publication ;  and  all  the  students  apologized 
but  one,  who  learned  a  few  days  before  commence- 
ment that  his  name  was  to  be  dropped  from  the  roll 
of  graduates.  He  went  to  the  faculty  with  the  state- 
ment that  he  was  of  age,  that  he  possessed  ample 
means,  and  that  he  would  carry  his  case  to  a  hearing 
before  the  crown  in  England.  In  a  few  days  he  was 
quietly  informed  that  he  would  be  permitted  to  grad- 
uate. This  is  but  a  straw*  and  yet  it  shows  clearly 
enough  the  direction  of  the  current  at  this  time.  A  de- 
mand for  toleration  was  made  because  it  was  felt  that 
there  was  a  need  for  it. 

*  History  of  Harvard  University,  23,  26. 


44  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

The  names  of  no  less  than  thirty-three  ministers  have 
been  given  who,  during  the  period  from 
Lib?rll^Men.^^  1730  to  1750,  did  not  teach  the  Calvm- 
istic  doctrines  in  their  fuhiess,  and 
who  had  adopted  more  or  less  distinctly  some  form 
of  Arminianism  or  Arianism.  These  men  were  among 
the  best  known,  most  successful,  and  most  scholarly 
men  in  Eastern  Massachusetts,  though  they  were  not 
wholly  confined  to  that  neighborhood.  We  find  here 
and  there  some  hint  of  the  books  these  men  read ;  and 
in  that  way  we  not  only  ascertain  the  cause  of  their  de- 
parture from  Calvinism,  but  we  also  obtain  some  clew 
to  the  nature  of  their  opinions.  Among  the  charges 
brought  by  Whitefield  against  Harvard  in  1740  was 
that  "  Tillotson  and  Clarke  are  read  instead  of  Shepard 
and  Stoddard,  and  such  like  evangelical  writers."  *  Dr. 
Wigglesworth,  the  divinity  professor  at  Harvard,  said 
that  Tillotson  had  not  been  taken  out  of  the  college 
hbrary  in  nine  years,  and  Clarke  not  in  two ;  and  he 
gave  a  long  list  of  evangelical  writers  who  were  fre- 
quently read.  In  spite  of  this  disclaimer,  however,  it  is 
evident  that  the  methods  of  the  rationalistic  writers 
were  coming  into  vogue  at«-  Harvard,  and  that  even  Dr. 
Wigglesworth  did  not  teach'  theology  in  the  manner  of 
the  author  of  the  Day  of  Doom. 

Writing  in  1759,  Dr.  Joseph  Bellamy,  one  of  the  chief 
followers  and  expositors  'oft  the  teachings  of  Jonathan 
Edwards,  said  that  the  teachings  of  the  liberal  men  in 
England  had  crossed  the  Atlantic ;  "  and  too  many  in 
our  churches,  and  even  amoiig  our  ministers,  have  fallen 
in  with  them.  Books  containing  them  have  been  im- 
ported ;  and  the  demand  for  them  has  been  so  great  as 

*  Whitefield's  Journal,  seventh  part,  28. 


DEMOCRACY  IN  THE  CHURCHES         45 

to  encourage  new  impressions  of  some  of  them.  Others 
have  been  written  on  the  same  principles  in  this  coun- 
try, and  even  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  has  been  pub- 
licly treated  in  such  a  manner  as  all  who  believe  that 
doctrine  must  judge  not  only  heretical,  but  highly 
blasphemous."  * 

It  is  said  of  Charles  Chauncy,  of  the  First  Church 
in  Boston,  that  his  favorite  authors  were  Tillotson  and 
Baxter. f  Far  more  suggestive  is  the  account  we 
have  of  the  books  read  by  Jonathan  Mayhew  of  the 
West  Church  in  Boston,  the  first  open  antagonist  of 
Calvinism  in  New  England.  Soon  after  1740  he  was 
reading  the  -works  of  the  great  Protestant  theologians 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  including  Milton,  Chilling- 
worth,  and  Tillotson  ;  and  the  eighteenth-century  works 
of  Locke,  Samuel  Clarke,  Taylor,  Wollaston,  and  Whis- 
ton.  He  also  probably  read  Cudworth,  Butler,  Hutche- 
son,  Leland,  and  other  authors  of  a  like  character,  some 
of  them  deists.  Not  one  of  these  writers  was  a  Calvin- 
ist  for  they  found  the  basis  of  religion  either  in  ideal- 
ism or  in  rationalism. 

The  biographer  of  Mayhew  says  it  "  is  evident  from 
some  of  his  discourses  that  he  was  a  great  admirer  of 
Samuel  Clarke,  whose  voluminous  works  were  in  his  day 
much  read  by  the  liberal  clergy."  Clarke's  Boyle  lectures, 
delivered  in  1704-5,  showed  that  natural  and  revealed 
religion  were  essentially  one,  that  moral  action  in  man  is 
free,  and  that  Christianity  is  the  religion  of  reason  and 
nature.  At  a  later  period  he  defended  the  two  proposi- 
tions, that  "  no  article  of  Christian  faith  delivered  in  the 
holy  Scriptures  is  disagreeable  to  right  reason,"  and  that 

*  Historical  Magazine,  new  series,  IX.  227,  April,  1871. 
t  W.  B.  Sprague,  Annals  of  the  Unitarian  Pulpit,  II. 


46  UNITAEIANISM   IN   AMEEICA 

"  without  liberty  of  human  actions  tliere  can  be  no  real 
reHgion  or  morahty."  Even  if  one  such  man  as  Jona- 
than Mayhew  read  Clarke's  work  in  the  Harvard  Li- 
brary, it  justified  the  alarm  felt  by  Whitefield  lest  the 
students  should  be  led  away  from  their  Calvinist  faith.* 
It   was    "the   great   awakening"   that   showed  how 

marked  had  been  the  growth  of  hberal  opin- 
.      .     .  ions  throughout  New  England  in  the  forty 

years  preceding.  Silently,  a  great  change 
had  gone  on,  with  little  open  expression  of  dissent  from 
Calvinism,  and  without  a  knowledge  on  the  part  of 
most  of  the  liberal  men  that  they  had  in  any  way 
departed  from  the  faith  of  the  fathers.  It  was  only 
with  the  coming  of  Whitefield  and  the  revival  that 
tliis  change  came  to  have  recognition,  and  that  even 
the  shghtest  separation  into  parties  took  place. 

The  revival  was  an  attempt  to  reintroduce  the  stricter 
Calvinism  of  the  earlier  time,  with  its  doctrines  of  justi- 
fication by  faith  alone,  supernatural  regeneration,  and 
predestination  made  known  to  the  behever  by  the  Holy 
Ghost.  The  Uberal  party  objected  to  the  revival  be- 
cause it  was  opposed  to  the  good  old  customs  of  the 
Congregational  churches  of  New  England.  The  itiner- 
ant methods  of  the  revivalists,  the  shriekings,  faintings, 
and  appeals  to  fear  and  terror,  were  condemned  as  not 
in  harmony  with  the  established  methods  of  the  churches. 
In  his  book  against  the  revivaHsts,  Dr.  Chauncy  said 
that  "  now  is  the  time  when  we  are  particularly  called  to 
stand  for  tlie  good  old  way,  and  bear  testimony  against 

*  Levi  L.  Paine,  A  Critical  History  of  the  Evolution  of  Trinitarianism, 
99.  "  Samuel  Clarke  and  others  took  the  ground  that  God  is  unipersoual, 
and  hence  that  the  Son  is  a  distinct  personal  being;  distingiiishing  God  the 
Father  as  the  absolute  Deity  from  the  Son  whom  they  regarded  as  God  in 
a  relative  or  secondary  sense,  being  derived  from  the  Father,  and  having 
his  beginning  from  Him." 


DEMOCRACY  IN  THE  CHURCHES         47 

everything  that  may  tend  to  cast  a  blemish  on  true 
primitive  Christianity."* 

When  the  great  awakening  came  to  an  end,  the  lib- 
eral party  was  far  stronger  than  before,  partly  because 
the  members  of  it  had  come  to  know  each  other  and  to 
feel  their  own  power,  partly  because  men  had  been  led 
to  declare  themselves  who  had  never  before  perceived 
their  own  position,  and  partly  because  the  agitation  had 
set  men  to  tliinking,  and  to  making  such  scrutiny  of 
their  beliefs  as  they  had  never  made  before.  The  testi- 
monies of  Harvard  College  and  various  associations  of 
ministers  against  the  methods  of  the  revivalists  were 
signed  by  sixty-tliree  men,  while  those  in  favor  of  the 
revival  were  signed  by  one  himdred  and  ten.  These 
numbers  represent  the  comparative  strength  of  the  two 
parties.  It  must  be  said,  however,  that  the  leading  men 
in  nearly  every  part  of  New  England  were  among  those 
opposing  the  revival  methods,  while  in  Eastern  Mas- 
sachusetts at  least  two-thirds  of  the  ministers  were  of 
the  Uberal  party,  f 

*  Seasonable  Thoughts,  337. 

t  Alden  Bradford,  in  his  Memoir  of  the  Life  and  Writings  of  Rev. 
Jonathan  Mayhew,  D.D.,  gives  a  list  of  "  the  clergymen  who  openly  op- 
posed or  did  not  teach  and  advocate  the  Calvinistic  doctrines  ' '  at  the  time 
of  Mayhew's  ordination,  in  1747.  These  were  :  Dr.  Appleton,  Cambridge  ; 
Dr.  Gay,  Hinghani ;  Dr.  Chauncy,  Boston ;  William  Rand,  Kingston ; 
Nathaniel  Eelles,  Scituate ;  E<lward  Barnard,  Haverhill ;  Samuel  Cooke, 
West  Cambridge  (now  Arlington)  ;  Jeremiah  Fogg,  Kensington,  N.H. ; 
Dr.  A.  Eliot,  Boston;  Dr.  Samuel  Webster,  Salisbury;  Lemuel  Briant, 
Braintree  ;  Dr,  Stevens,  Kitterj',  Me. ;  Dr.  Tucker,  Newbury ;  Timothy 
Harrington,  Lancaster ;  Dr.  Gad  Hitchcock,  Pembroke ;  Josiah  Smith, 
Pembroke  ;  William  Smith,  Wejaiiouth ;  Dr.  Daniel  Shute,  Hingham  ; 
Dr.  Samuel  Cooper,  Boston ;  Dr.  Mayhew,  Boston ;  Abraham  Williams, 
Sand^vich  ;  Anthony  Wibird,  Braintree  (now  Quincy) ;  Dr.  Cushing,  Wal- 
tham  ;  Professor  Wigglesworth,  Harvard  College  ;  Dr.  SjTnmes,  Andover  ; 
Dr.  John  Willard,  Coimecticut ;  Amos  Adams,  Roxbury ;  Dr.  Barnes, 
Scituate ;  Charles  Turner,  Duxbury ;  Dr.  Dana  Wallingford,  Conn. ; 
Ebenezer  Thayer,  Hampton,  N.H. ;  Dr.  Fiske,  Brookfield ;   Dr.  Samuel 


48  UNITAEIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

The  strong  feeling  caused  by  the  revival  soon  sub- 
sided, and  no  division  between  the  Calviuist  and  the 
Arminian  parties  took  place.  The  progressive  tenden- 
cies went  quietly  on,  step  by  step  the  old  beliefs  were 
discarded;  but  it  was  by  individuals,  and  not  in  any 
form  as  a  sectarian  movement.  The  relations  of  the 
church  to  the  state  at  this  time  would  have  made  such 
a  result  impossible. 

Looking  over  the  whole  field  of  the  theological  ad- 
vance from  1725  to  1760,  we  find  that 

Cardinal  Beliefs      ,  i  '  ,      .  i     j  i,  •      j     .  i. 

..,-..      ,        three  conclusions  had  been  arrived  at  by 
of  the  Liberals.  -^ 

the  men  of  the  Uberal  movement.  The 
first  of  these  was  that  what  they  stood  for  as  a  body 
was  a  recovery  and  restoration  of  primitive  Christianity 
in  its  simplicity  and  power.  It  was  said  of  Dr.  Mayhew 
by  his  biographer  that  he  "was  a  great  advocate  of 
primitive  Christianity,  and  zealously  contended  for  the 
faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints." 

The  second  opinion,  to  which  they  gave  frequent  ut- 
terance, was  that  the  Bible  is  a  divine  revelation,  the 
true  source  of  all  rehgious  teaching,  and  the  one  suffi- 
cient creed  for  all  men.  In  his  sermon  against  the  en- 
thusiasm of  the  revivalists,  Chauncy  said  that  a  true 
test  of  all  religious  excitement,  and  of  every  kind  of 
new  teachings,  was  to  be  found  in  their  "regard  to  the 

West,  Dartmouth  (now  New  Bedford) ;  Dr.  Hemenway,  Wells.  Among 
those  who  took  part  in  the  ordination  of  Joiaathan  Mayhew,  and  therefore 
presumably  of  the  same  theological  opinions,  were  Hancock,  Lexington ; 
Cotton,  Newton;  Cooke,  Sudbury;  Prescott,  Danvers  (now  Salem).  To 
these  may  be  added,  says  Bradford,  though  of  a  somewhat  later  date : 
Dr.  Coffin,  Buxton  ;  Drs.  Howard,  West,  Lathrop,  and  Belknap,  Boston  ; 
Dr.  Henry  Cummings,  BiUerica ;  Dr.  Deane,  Portland ;  Thomas  Cary, 
Newburyport ;  Dr.  Fobes,  Raynham ;  Timothy  HiUiard,  Cambridge ; 
Thomas  Haven,  Reading ;  Dr.  Willard,  Beverly.  Dr.  Ezra  Ripley  added 
the  names  of  Hedge,  of  Warwick,  and  Foster,  of  Stafford.  This  makes 
fifty-two  in  all,  but  probably  as  many  more  could  be  added  by  careful  search. 


DEMOCRACY  IN  THE  CHURCHES         49 

Bible,  and  its  acknowledgment  that  the  things  therein 
contained  are  the  commandments  of  God."  "  Keep 
close  to  the  Scripture,"  was  his  admonition  to  his  congre- 
gation, "  and  admit  of  nothing  for  an  impression  of  the 
spirit  but  what  agrees  with  that  unerring  rule.  Fix  it 
in  your  minds  as  a  truth  you  will  invariably  abide  by, 
that  the  Bible  is  the  grand  test  by  which  everything  in 
religion  is  to  be  tried." 

The  third  position  of  the  men  of  the  liberal  movement 
was  that  Christ  is  the  only  means  of  salvation,  and  they 
yielded  to  him  unquestioning  loyalty  and  faith.  Turning 
away  from  the  creeds  of  men,  as  they  did  in  so  far  as 
they  could  see  their  way,  they  concentrated  their  convic- 
tions upon  Christ,  and  found  in  him  the  spiritual  and 
vital  centre  of  all  faith  that  lives  with  true  power  to 
help  men.  Mayhew  held  that  God  could  not  have  for- 
given men  their  sins  without  the  atonement  of  Christ, 
for  his  life  and  his  gospel  are  the  means  of  the  great 
reconciliation  by  which  man  and  God  are  brought  into 
harmony  with  each  other. 

In  three  publications  may  be  seen  what  the  Arminians 

had  to  teach  that  was  opposed  to  Cal- 
Publications  defining         .    .  t     -i  -r  <  ^  t  ■     t^      , 

the  Liberal  Beliefs.        ^^^^^'     I^  1 '^44  appeared  m  Boston 

a  book  of  two  hundi-ed  and  eight 
pages  by  Rev.  Experience  jMayhew,  one  of  a  devoted 
family  of  missionaries  to  the  Indians  of  Martha's  Vine- 
yard. He  called  his  book  "  Grace  Defended,  in  a  Modest 
Plea  for  an  important  Truth :  namely,  that  the  offer  of 
Salvation  made  to  sinners  comprises  in  it  an  offer  of  the 
Grace  given  in  Regeneration."  Mr.  Mayhew  claimed 
that  he  was  a  Calvinist,  yet  he  rejected  the  teaching 
that  ever}'  act  of  the  unregenerate  person  is  equal  in 
the  sight  of  God  to  the  worst  sin,  and  claimed  that  even 


50  UNITAKIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

the  sinner  can  live  so  well  and  so  justly  as  to  favor  his 
being  accepted  of  God.  Mayhew  maintained  that  Clirist 
died  for  all  men,  not  for  the  elect  only.*  He  claimed 
that  "  God  cannot  be  truly  said  to  offer  salvation  to 
sinners  without  offering  to  them  whatsoever  is  necessary 
on  his  part,  in  order  to  their  salvation."  |  Mayhew  was 
usually  credited  with  being  an  Arminian ;  for  he  posi- 
tively rejected  the  doctrine  of  election,  and  he  defended 
the  principle  of  human  freedom  in  the  most  affirmative 
manner. 

In  1749  Lemuel  Briant  (or  Bryant),  the  minister  in 
that  part  of  Braintree  which  became  the  town  of  Quincy, 
published  a  sermon  which  he  entitled  The  Absurdity 
and  Blasphemy  of  Depreciating  Moral  Virtue.  It  con- 
demned reliance  on  Christ's  merits  without  effort  to  live 
his  life,  and  showed  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Christian 
to  live  righteously.  Briant  said  that  to  hold  any  other 
view  was  hurtful  and  blasphemous.  He  claimed  that 
"  the  great  rule  the  Scriptures  lay  down  for  men  to  go 
by  in  passing  judgment  on  their  spiritual  state  is  the 
sincere,  upright,  steady,  and  universal  practice  of  virtue." 
"  To  preach  up  chiefly  what  Christ  himself  laid  the 
stress  upon  (and  whether  this  was  not  moral  virtue  let 
every  one  judge  from  his  discourses)  must  certainly,  in 
the  opinion  of  all  sober  men,  be  called  truly  and  prop- 
erly, and  in  the  best  sense,  preaching  of  Christ." 

A  pamphlet  of  thirty  pages  appeared  in  1757,  writ- 
ten by  Samuel  Webster,  the  minister  of  Salisbury,  with 
the  title  "  A  Winter  Evening's  Conversation  upon  the 
doctrine  of  Original  Sin,  wherein  the  notion  of  our  hav- 
ing sinned  in  Adam,  and  being  on  that  account  only 
liable  to  eternal  Damnation,  is  proved  to  be  Unscript- 

*  Grace  Defended,  43.  t  Ibid.,  60. 


DEMOCRACY  IN  THE  CHURCHES         51 

ural."  It  is  in  the  form  of  a  dialogue  between  a  min- 
ister and  three  of  his  parishioners,  and  gives,  as  few 
other  writings  of  the  eighteenth  century  do,  a  clear  and 
explicit  statement  of  the  author's  opinions  in  a  readable 
and  interesting  form.  That  all  have  sinned  in  Adam 
the  minister  pronounces  "  a  very  shocking  doctrine." 
"  What !  make  them  first  to  open  their  eyes  in  torment, 
and  all  this  for  a  sin  which  certainly  they  had  no  hand 
in, —  a  sin  which,  if  it  comes  upon  them  at  all,  certainly 
is  without  any  fault  or  blame  on  their  parts,  for  they 
had  no  hand  in  receiving  it  I  "  That  Adam  is  our  fed- 
eral head,  and  that  we  sinned  because  he  sinned,  he 
calls  "  a  mere  castle  in  the  air."  "  Sin  and  guilt  are 
personal  things  as  much  as  knowledge.  I  can  as  easily 
conceive  of  one  man's  knowledge  being  imputed  to  an- 
other as  of  his  sins  being  so.  No  imputation  in  either 
case  can  make  the  thing  to  be  mine  which  is  not  mine 
any  more  than  one  person  may  be  another  person." 
He  declares  that  this  doctrine  of  imputation  causes  in- 
fidehty.  "  It  naturally  leads  men  into  every  dishonor- 
able thought  of  God  wliich  gives  a  great  and  general 
blow  to  religion."  It  impeaches  the  holiness  of  God, 
"  for  it  supposes  him  to  make  millions  sinners  by  his 
decree  of  imputation,  who  would  otherwise  have  been 
innocent."  That  it  was  his  decree  alone  "that  made 
all  Adam's  posterity  sinners  is  the  very  essence  of  this 
doctrine."  "  And  so  Christians  are  guilty  of  holding 
what  even  heathen  would  blush  at."  That  God  "should 
pronounce  a  sentence  by  which  myriads  of  infants,  as 
blameless  as  helpless,  were  consigned  over  to  black- 
ness of  darkness  to  be  tormented  with  fire  and  brim- 
stone forever,  is  not  consistent  with  infinite  goodness." 
"  How  dreadfully  is  God  dishonored  by  such  monstrous 


52  UNITARIANISM   IN   AJMERICA 

representations  as  these ! "  Such  a  being  cannot  be 
loved  by  us,  for  every  heart  rebels  against  it.  "  All 
descriptions  of  the  Divine  Being  which  represent  him 
in  an  unamiable  light  do  the  greatest  hurt  to  religion 
that  can  be,  as  they  strike  at  love,  which  is  the  fulfil- 
ing  of  the  law.  I  am  persuaded  that  many  of  those 
who  think  they  believe  this  doctrine  do  not  really  be- 
lieve it,  or  else  they  do  not  consider  how  it  represents 
their  heavenly  Father."  The  pamphlet  concludes  with 
the  acceptance  of  this  broader  teaching  by  the  parish- 
ioners, but  it  was  the  cause  of  controversy  in  pulpits 
and  by  means  of  pamphlets.  Bellamy  denied  the  teach- 
ings of  Webster,  and  Chauncy  defended  them.  So 
bold  a  pamphlet  as  this  showed  how  men  had  come  to 
reason  without  compromise  about  the  old  doctrines,  and 
gave  evidence  that  the  growing  spirit  of  humanity 
would  no  longer  accept  what  was  harsh  and  cruel. 
The  New  England  churches  were  thus  not  standing 
still  as  regards  doctrines,  moral  conduct, 

ases  0      e  ig-     ^^^^  methods  of  worship,  or  the  relations 
lous  Progress.  ^' 

they  held  to  the  state  ;  but  step  by  step 

they  were  moving  away  from  the  methods  and  the  ideas 
of  the  fathers.  The  "  lining  out "  of  hymns  was  slowly 
abandoned,  and  singing  by  note  took  its  place.  The 
agitation  that  followed  this  attempt  at  reform  was  great 
and  wide-spread.  The  introduction  of  an  organized  and 
trained  choir  was  also  in  the  nature  of  a  genuine  reform. 
When  the  liberal  Thomas  Brattle  offered  an  organ  to 
the  new  church  in  Brattle  Street,  it  was  voted  "that  they 
do  not  think  it  proper  to  use  tlie  same  in  the  public 
worship  of  God."  The  instrument  was,  however,  ac- 
cepted by  King's  Chapel ;  and  an  organist  was  secured 
from  London.     It  was  not  until  1770  that  the  church 


DEMOCRACY  IN  THE  CHURCHES         63 

in  Providence  procured  an  organ,  the  first  used  in  a 
Congregational  church  in  New  England. 

When  Dr.  Jonathan  Mayhew  died,  in  1766,  Dr. 
Chauncy  prayed  at  his  funeral ;  and  this  was  said  to 
have  been  the  first  prayer  ever  made  at  a  funeral  in 
Boston,  so  strong  was  the  Puritan  dislike  of  the  cus- 
toms of  the  Catholic  Church.  *  In  this  way,  as  well  as 
in  others,  the  new  liberalism  broke  down  the  old 
customs,  and  introduced  those  with  which  we  are 
familiar.  Perhaps  the  most  marked  tendency  of  this 
kind  was  the  introduction  of  the  reading  of  the  Bible 
into  the  services  of  the  churches  as  a  part  of  the  order 
of  worship.  This  innovation  was  distinctly  due  to  the 
liberal  men  and  the  high  esteem  in  which  they  held  the 
Scriptures  as  a  means  of  giving  sobriety  and  reason- 
ableness to  their  religion.  The  First  Church  in  Boston, 
in  May,  1730,  voted  that  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures, 
instead  of  the  old  Puritan  way  of  expounding  them,  be 
thereafter  discretionary  with  the  ministers  of  that 
church,  but  "that  the  mind  of  the  chui'ch  is  that 
larger  portions  should  be  publicly  read  than  has  been 
used."  f  As  we  have  seen,  the  Brattle  Street  Church 
had  already  led  in  this  reform,  having  adopted  this 
practice  in  1699.  This  custom  of  reading  the  Bible  as 
a  part  of  the  service  of  worship  came  slowly  into 
general  acceptance,  for  there  was  a  strong  feeling 
against  it.  When  a  Bible  was  presented  to  the  parish 
in  Mendon,  in  1767,  a  serious  commotion  resulted 
because  of  the  strong  feeling  against  the  Church  of 
England  then  prevalent ;  and  the  donor  gave  it  to  the 

♦Alice  Morse  Earle,  Cufltomfl  and  Fashions  in  Old  New  England,  364, 
367.    See  H.  M.  Dexter,    Congregationalism  as  seen  in  its  Literature,  458. 

t  A.  B.  Ellis,  History  of  the  First  Church  in  Boston,  Vj9. 


54  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

minister  until  such  time  as  the  church  might  wish  to 
use  it.  It  was  as  late  as  1785  that  a  copy  of  the  Bible 
was  given  to  the  First  Church  in  Dedham,  with  the 
request  that  the  reading  of  it  should  be  made  a  part  of 
the  exercises  of  the  Lord's  day ;  and  the  parish  in- 
structed the  minister  to  read  such  portions  of  it  as  he 
thought  "  most  desirable "  and  of  "  such  length  as 
the  several  seasons  of  the  year  and  other  circum- 
stances "  might  render  proper.  In  the  West  Church  of 
Med  way  it  was  not  until  1806  that  this  practice  was 
established,  and  two  of  the  Salem  churches  began  it 
the  same  year.  The  reading  of  the  Bible  at  ordination 
services  did  not  become  customary  until  an  even  later 
date.* 

Such  are  some  of  the  practical  innovations  which 
accompanied  the  doctrinal  development  that  was  taking 
place.  Liberahty  in  one  direction  brought  toleration 
and  progress  in  others.  Some  of  these  changes  were 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  prejudices  against  the  Cathohc 
Church  and  the  Church  of  England  had,  in  a  measure, 
disappeared,  because  there  was  nothing  to  keep  them 
ahve.  Others  were  due  to  the  intellectual  influences 
that  came  into  the  colonies  from  England.  Still  others 
resulted  from  the  shifting  relations  of  church  and 
state,  and  were  the  effect  of  attempts  to  adjust  those 
relations  more  satisfactorily. 

*New  England  Magazine,  February,  1899.  A.  H.  Coolidge  on  Script- 
ure Reading  in  the  Worship  of  the  New  England  Churches. 


IV. 

THE   SILENT   ADVANCE   OF    LIBERALISM. 

The  progressive  tendencies  went  silently  on ;  and  step 
by  step  the  old  beliefs  were  discarded,  but  always  by 
individuals  and  churcbes,  and  not  by  associations  or 
general  official  action.  Even  before  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century  there  was  not  only  a  questioning  of 
the  doctrine  of  divine  decrees,  the  conception  that  God 
elects  some  to  bhss  and  some  to  perdition  in  accordance 
with  his  own  arbitrary  will,  but  there  was  also  develop- 
ing a  tendency  to  reject  the  tritheism  *  which  in  New 
England  took  the  place  of  a  philosophical  conception  of 
the  Trinity,  such  as  had  been  held  by  the  great  thinkers 
of  the  Christian  ages.  In  part  this  doubt  about  the 
Trinity  was  the  result  of  a  more  thoughtful  study  of  the 
Bible,  where  the  doctrine  taught  by  the  leading  theo- 
logians of  the  old  school  in  New  England  does  not 
appear ;  and  in  part  it  was  the  result  of  the  reading 
of  the  works  of  the  Enghsh  divines  of  the  more  lib- 
eral school.  Sometliing  of  this  tendency  w^as  also  due 
to  the  spirit  of  free  inquiry,  and  the  rational  interpre- 
tation of  religion,  that  were  beginning  to  make  them- 

•  Levi  L.  Paine,  A  Critical  History  of  the  Evolution  of  Trinitarianism, 
105.  "Nathaniel  Emmons  held  tenaciously  to  three  real  persons.  He  said, 
'  It  is  as  easy  to  conceive  of  God  existing  in  three  persons  as  in  one  person.' 
This  language  shows  that  Emmons  employed  the  term  '  person '  in  the  strict 
literal  sense.  The  three  are  absolutely  equal,  this  involving  the  meta- 
physical assumption  that  in  the  Trinity  being  and  person  are  not  coinci- 
dent. Emmons  is  the  first  theologian  who  asserts  that,  though  we  cannot 
conceive  that  three  persons  should  be  one  person,  we  may  conceive  that 
three  persons  may  be  one  Being,  '  if  we  only  suppose  that  being  may  signify 
Bomething  different  from  person  in  respect  to  Deity.'  " 


56  UNITAEIANISM    IN    AMEKICA 

selves  felt  amongst  those  not  wholly  committed  to  the 
old  ways  of  thinking. 

It  was  characteristic  of  those  who  questioned  the 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  as  then  taught,  that  they  insisted 
on  stating  their  beliefs  in  the  language  of  the  New 
Testament,  especially  in  that  of  Jesus  himself.  They 
found  him  teaching  his  own  dependence  on  his  Father, 
claiming  for  himseK  only  an  inferior  and  subordinate 
position.  BeHeving  in  his  pre-existence,  his  super- 
natural character  and  mission,  they  held  that  he  was  the 
creator  of  the  world  or  that  creation  took  place  by  means 
of  the  spirit  that  was  in  him,  and  that  every  honor 
should  be  paid  him  except  that  of  worshipping  him  as 
the  Supreme  Being.  As  in  the  ancient  family  the  son 
was  always  subordinate  to  liis  father,  so  the  Son  of  God 
presented  in  the  New  Testament  is  less  exalted  than  his 
Father.  Tliis  conception  of  Christ  is  technically  called 
Arianism,  from  the  Alexandrian  presbyter  of  the  fourth 
century  who  first  brought  it  into  prominence. 

The  Arian  heresy  did  not  necessarily  follow  the  Ar- 

minian,  but  much  the  same  causes  led 
Subordinate  Nat-      ,      .,  ^^  j?  ^.i,      i      j 

f  Ch  "  t  appearance.     Many  of  the  lead- 

ing men  in  England  had  become  Arians, 
including  Milton,  Locke,  Taylor,  Clarke,  Watts,  and 
others ;  and  the  reading  of  their  books  in  New  Eng- 
land led  to  an  inquiry  into  the  trutlifulness  of  the 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  As  early  as  1720  the  preachers 
of  convention  and  election  sermons  were  insisting  upon 
a  recognition  of  Christ  in  the  old  way,  showing  that 
they  were  suspicious  of  heresy.*  Most  of  the  Arians 
retained  the  other  doctrines  in  which  they  had  been 
educated,  even  putting  a  stronger  emphasis  upon  them 

*  E.  H.  Gillett,  History  and  Literature  of  the  Unitarian  Controversiy:. 
Historical  Magazine,  Aprilj  iSTl  ;  second  series,  IX.  222. 


SILENT   ADVANCE   OF   LIBERALISM  57 

than  before.  Rarely  was  the  subordinate  nature  of 
Christ  made  in  any  way  prominent  in  preacliing.  It 
was  held  so  strictly  subsidiary  to  the  cardinal  doctrines 
of  incarnation  and  atonement  that  only  the  most  intel- 
ligent and  watchful  could  detect  any  difference  between 
those  who  were  Arians  and  those  who  were  strict  Trini- 
tarians. Now  and  then  a  man  of  more  pronounced  con- 
victions and  utterance  was  shunned  by  his  ministerial 
neighbors,  but  this  rarely  occurred  and  had  little  prac- 
tical effect.  So  long  as  a  preacher  gave  satisfaction  to 
his  own  congregation,  and  had  behind  liim  the  voters 
and  the  tax-hst  of  his  town,  his  heresies  were  passed  by 
with  only  comment  and  gossip. 

We  find  here  and  there  definite  indications  of  the 
doctrinal  changes  that  were  taking  place,  as  in  the  repub- 
Ucation  of  Emlyn's  Humble  Inquiry  into  the  Scripture 
Account  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  appeared  in  Boston  in 
1756.  Thomas  Emlyn,  the  first  English  preacher  who 
called  himself  a  Unitarian,  published  his  Humble  In- 
quiry in  1702;  and  in  1705  he  established  a  Unitarian 
congregation  in  London.  This  distinctively  Unitarian 
book  made  an  able  defence  of  the  doctrine  of  the  subor- 
dinate nature  of  Christ.  More  significant  than  the 
republication  of  the  book  itself  was  the  preface  written 
for  it  by  a  Boston  layman,  addressed  to  the  ministers  of 
the  town,  in  which  he  said  that  he  found  its  teaching 
"  to  be  the  true,  plain,  unadulterated  doctrine  of  the 
Gospel."  He  also  intimated  that  "  many  of  his  brethren 
of  the  laity  in  the  town  and  country  were  in  sympathy 
with  him  and  sincerely  desirous  of  knowing  the  truth." 
"In  New  Hampshire  Province,"  wrote  Dr.  Joseph 
Bellamy,  in  1760,  "this  party  have  actually,  three  years 
ago,  got  things  so  ripe  that  they  have  ventured  to  new 


58  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

model  our  Shorter  Cateehisra,  to  alter  or  entirely  leave 
out  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  of  the  decrees,  of  our 
fu'st  parents  being  created  holy,  of  original  sin,  Christ 
satisfying  divine  justice,  effectual  calling,  justification, 
etc."  * 

The  farther  advance  in  the  liberal  movement  may  be 

most  easily  traced  in  the  lives  and  teach- 
Some  0  t  e  ^^  ^£  three  or  four  men.  Rev.  Ebene- 
Liberal  Leaders.         °  ■     ^^^      ^  • 

zer  Gay,  who  was  settled  m  Hmgham  m 

1717,  was  the  first  man  in  New  England  to  arrive  at  a 
clear  statement  of  opinions  quite  outside  of  and  distinct 
from  Calvinism.  Writing  of  the  years  from  1750  to 
1755,  John  Adams  said  that  at  that  time  Lemuel 
Briant,  of  Brain  tree,  Jonathan  Mayhew,  of  the  West 
Church  in  Boston,  Daniel  Shute,  of  Hingham,  Jolm 
Brown,  of  Cohasset,  and  perhaps  equal  to  all,  if  not 
above  all,  Ebenezer  Gay,  of  Hingham,  were  Unitari- 
ans.! The  rapid  sale  of  Emlyn's  book  would  prove  the 
trutlifulness   of   this  statement.      It   was    not   by   any 

*  Letter  to  Scripturista  by  Paulinus,  18. 

t  William  S.  Pattee,  A  History  of  Old  Braintree  and  Quincy,  222. 
When  a  copy  of  Dr.  Jedediah  Morse's  little  book  on  American  Unitarian- 
ism  was  sent  to  John  Adams,  he  acknowledged  its  receipt  in  the  following 

Qtjincy,  May  15, 1815. 
Dear  Doctor, —  I  thank  you  for  your  favor  of  the  10th,  and  the  pam- 
phlet enclosed,  entitled  American  Unitarianism.  I  have  turned  over  its 
leaves,  and  found  nothing  that  was  not  familiarly  known  to  me.  In  the 
preface  Unitarianism  is  represented  as  only  thirty  years  old  in  New  Eng- 
land. I  can  testify  as  a  witness  to  its  old  age.  Sixty-five  years  ago  ray 
own  minister,  the  Kev.  Lemuel  Briant ;  Dr.  Jonathan  Mayhew,  of  the  West 
Church  in  Boston ;  the  Kev.  Mr.  Shute,  of  Hingham ;  the  Kev.  John 
Brown,  of  Cohasset ;  and  perhaps  equal  to  all,  if  not  above  all,  the  Kev. 
Mr.  Gay,  of  Hingham,  were  Unitarians.  Among  the  laity  how  many  could 
I  name,  lawyers,  physicians,  tradesmen,  farmers !  But  at  present  I  will 
name  only  one,  Richard  Cranch,  a  man  who  had  studied  di\'inity,  and 
Jewish  and  (Christian  antiquities,  more  than  any  clergyman  now  existing 
in  New  England.  John  Adams. 

Also  see  C.  F.  Adams,  Three  Episodes  of  Massachusetts  History,  643 ; 
and  J.  H.  Allen,  An  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Unitarian  Movement  since 
the  Reformation,  175. 


SILENT    ADVANCE    OF    LIBERALISM  69 

sudden  process  that  these  men  had  come  to  what  may- 
be called  Unitarianism,  though,  more  properly,  Arian- 
ism ;  and  not  as  a  mere  result  of  a  reaction  from  Cal- 
vinism. A  new  time  had  come,  and  with  it  new  hopes 
and  thoughts.  The  burdening  sense  of  the  spiritual 
world  that  belonged  to  the  men  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury did  not  belong  to  those  of  the  eighteenth.  Men 
had  come  to  see  that  God  must  manifest  liimself  in 
reason,  common  sense,  nature,  and  the  facts  of  life. 

In  the  life  and  teachings  of  such  a  man  as  Ebenezer 
Gay  we  catch  a  new  insight  into  the  spirit  that  was 
active  in  New  England  throughout  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury for  the  realization  of  a  larger  faith.  He  was  a  man 
of  a  strong,  original,  vigorous  nature,  a  born  leader  of 
men,  and  one  who  impressed  his  own  character  upon 
those  with  whom  he  came  into  contact.  He  opposed 
the  revival,  and  he  made  the  men  of  liis  own  association 
think  with  him  in  their  opposition  to  it.  Years  before 
the  revival,  however,  he  was  a  hberal  in  theology,  and 
had  found  his  way  into  Arminianism.  With  the  spirit 
of  free  inquiry  he  was  in  fullest  sympathy.  He  was 
strongly  opposed  to  creeds  and  to  all  written  articles  of 
faith.  He  condemned  in  the  most  forcible  terms  the 
young  man  who,  on  the  occasion  of  his  ordination,  "  en- 
gages to  preach  according  to  a  rule  of  faith,  creed,  or 
confession  which  is  merely  of  human  prescription  or  im- 
position." In  his  convention  sermon  of  1746  he  de- 
nounced those  who  "  insist  upon  the  offensive  peculiari- 
ties of  the  party  they  espoused  rather  than  upon  the 
more  mighty  tilings  in  which  we  are  all  agreed."  It 
has  been  said  of  him  that,  after  the  middle  of  the  cen- 
tury, "  his  discourses  will  be  searched  in  vain  for  any 
discussions  of  controversial  theology,  any  advocacy  of 


60  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

the  peculiar  doctrines  regarded  as  orthodox,  or  the 
expression  of  any  opinions  at  variance  with  those  of  his 
successor,  Dr.  Ware."  * 

The  sermon  on  Natural  Religion  as  distinguished 
from  Revealed,  which  Dr.  Gay  delivered  as  the  Dud- 
leian  lecture  at  Harvard,  in  1759,  showed  the  reason- 
able and  progressive  spirit  of  his  preaching.  He 
claimed  that  there  is  no  antagonism  between  natural 
and  revealed  rehgion,  and  that,  while  revealed  rehgion 
is  an  addition  to  the  natural,  it  is  not  built  on 
the  ruins,  but  on  the  everlasting  foundations  of  it. 
Revelation  can  teach  nothing  contrary  to  natural  re- 
ligion or  to  the  dictates  of  reason.  "No  doctrine  or 
scheme  of  religion,"  he  said,  "should  be  advanced  or 
received  as  Scriptural  and  divine  which  is  plainly  and 
absolutely  mconsistent  with  the  perfections  of  God,  and 
the  possibility  of  things.  Absurdities  and  contradic- 
tions are  not  to  be  obtruded  upon  our  faith.  No  pre- 
tence of  revelation  can  be  sufficient  for  the  admission 
of  them.  The  manifest  absurdity  of  any  doctrine  is  a 
stronger  argument  that  it  is  not  of  God  than  any  other 
evidence  can  be  that  it  is." 

Jonathan  Mayhew,  the  son  of  Experience  Mayhew, 
of  Martha's  Vineyard,  was  settled  over  the  West  Church 
of  Boston  in  1747.  He  was  even  then  known  as  a 
heretic,  who  had  read  the  most  liberal  books  of  the 
English  philosophers  and  theologians,  and  who  had 
boldly  accepted  their  opinions  as  his  own.  On  the 
occasion  of  his  ordination  not  one  of  the  Boston  min- 
isters was  present,  although  a  number  of  them  were 
well  known  for  their  Hberal  opinions.     The  ordination 

*  History  of  Hingham,  I.,  Part  II.,  24,  Memoir  of  Ebenezer  Gay,  by 
Solomon  Lincoln. 


SILENT   ADVANCE   OF   LIBERALISM  61 

was  postponed,  and  later  several  men  of  remoter  par- 
ishes joined  in  inducting  this  young  independent  into 
his  pulpit.  No  Boston  minister  would  exchange  pul- 
pits -with  him,  and  he  was  not  invited  to  join  the 
ministerial  association.  He  was  shunned  by  the  min- 
isters, and  he  was  dreaded  by  the  orthodox  ;  but  he  was 
gladly  heard  by  a  large  congi*egation,  which  grew  in 
numbers  and  intelHgence  as  the  years  went  on.  He 
had  among  his  hearers  many  of  the  leading  men  of 
the  town,  and  to  him  gathered  those  who  were  most 
thoughtful  and  progressive.  Boston  has  never  liad  in 
any  of  its  pulpits  a  man  of  nobler,  broader,  more  hu- 
mane quahties,  or  one  with  a  mind  more  completely 
committed  to  seeking  and  knowing  the  truth,  or  with 
a  more  unflinching  purpose  to  speak  his  own  mind 
without  fear  or  favor.  His  influence  was  soon  power- 
fully felt  in  the  town,  and  his  name  came  to  stand  for 
liberty  in  politics  as  well  as  in  religion.  His  sermons 
were  rapidly  printed  and  distributed  widely.  They 
were  read  in  every  part  of  New  England  mth  great 
eagerness ;  they  were  reprinted  in  England,  and  brought 
him  a  large  correspondence  from  those  who  admired 
and  approved  of  Ids  teaching.  Though  he  died  in 
1766,  at  the  age  of  forty-six,  his  work  and  his  influence 
did  not  die  with  him. 

The  cardinal  thought  of  Jonathan  Mayhew  with 
reference  to  religion  was  that  of  free  mquiry.  Diligent 
and  free  examination  of  all  questions,  he  felt,  was 
necessary  to  any  acquisition  of  the  truth.  He  believed 
in  liberty  and  toleration  everywhere,  and  this  made 
him  accept  in  the  fullest  sense  the  doctrine  of  the 
freedom  of  the  will.  In  man  he  found  a  self- 
determining  power,  the  source  of  his  moral  and  intel- 


62  UNITAEIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

lectual  freedom.  He  said  that  we  are  more  certain  of 
the  fact  that  we  are  free  than  we  are  of  the  truth  of 
Christianity.  This  behef  led  him  to  the  rejection  of 
the  Calvinistic  doctrine  of  inabihty,  and  to  a  strong 
faith  in  the  moral  and  spiritual  j)0ssibihties  of  human 
nature.  He  described  Christianity  as  "  a  practical 
science,  the  art  of  living  piously  and  virtuously."  * 
He  had  quite  freed  his  mind  from  bondage  to  creeds 
when  he  said  that,  "  how  much  soever  any  man  may  be 
mistaken  in  opinion  concerning  the  terms  of  salvation, 
/  yet  if  he  is  practically  in  the  right  there  is  no  doubt 
but  he  will  be  accepted  of  God."  f  He  held  that  no 
speculative  error,  however  great,  is  sufficient  to  exclude 
a  good  and  upright  man  from  the  kingdom  of  heaven, 
who  lives  according  to  the  genuine  spirit  of  the  gospel. 
To  him  the  principle  of  grace  was  always  a  principle 
of  goodness  and  holiness ;  and  he  held  that  grace  can 
never  be  operative  as  a  saving  power  without  obedience 
to  that  righteousness  and  love  which  Christ  taught  as 
essential.^  He  declared  that  "the  doctrine  that  men 
may  obtain  salvation  without  ceasing  to  do  evil  and 
learning  to  do  well,  without  yielding  a  sincere  obedi- 
ence to  the  laws  of  Christianity,  is  not  so  properly 
called  a  doctrine  of  grace  as  it  is  a  doctrine  of  devils."  § 
He  said,  again,  that  we  cannot  be  justified  by  a  faith 
that  is  without  obedience ;  for  it  is  obedience  aud  good 
works  that  give  to  faith  all  its  Ufe,  efficacy,  and  per- 
fection. II 

Dr.  Mayhew  accepted  without  equivocation  the  right 

of  private  judgment  in  religion,  and 

The  First  Unitarian.  ,  .•      i     -j.    •    t   •  n  i        -j.!, 

he    practised    it   jucuciaily    and    with 

wise  insight.     He   unhesitatingly    applied  the   rational 

* Sennons,  1755,  83,    t  Ibid.,  103.     J  Ibid.,  119.    §  Ibid.,  125.     1  Ibid..  245. 


SILENT   ADVANCE   OF   LlBEltALISM  63 

method  to  all  theological  problems,  and  to  him  reason 
was  the  final  court  of  appeal  for  everything  connected 
with  religion.  His  love  of  freedom  was  enthusiastic 
and  persistent,  and  he  was  zealously  committed  to  the 
principle  of  indi\aduality.  He  believed  in  the  essential 
goodness  of  human  nature,  and  in  the  doctrine  of  the 
Divine  Unity.  He  was  the  first  outspoken  Unitarian 
in  New  England,  not  merely  because  he  rejected  the 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  but  because  he  accepted  all  the 
cardinal  principles  developed  by  that  movement  since 
his  day.  He  was  a  rationahst,  an  individualist,  a  de- 
fender of  personal  freedom,  and  tested  religious  prac- 
tices by  the  standard  of  common  sense.  His  sermons 
were  plain,  direct,  vigorous,  and  modern.  A  truly  re- 
hgious  man,  Mayhew  taught  a  practical  and  humanita- 
rian rehgion,  genuinely  ethical,  and  faithful  in  inculcat- 
ing the  motive  of  civic  duty. 

Dr.  Mayhew's  words  may  be  quoted  in  regard  to  some 
of  the  religious  beUefs  commonly  accepted  in  his  day. 
"  The  doctrine  of  a  total  ignorance  and  incapacity  to 
judge  of  moral  and  rehgious  truths  brought  upon  man- 
khid  by  the  disobedience  of  our  first  parents,"  he  wrote, 
" is  without  foundation."  *  "I  hope  it  appears,"  he 
says,  "  that  the  love  of  God  and  of  our  neighbor,  that 
sincere  piety  of  heart,  and  a  righteous,  holy  and  chari- 
table hfe,  are  the  weightier  matters  of  the  gospel,  as 
well  as  of  the  law."  f  "  Although  Christianity  cannot," 
he  asserts,  "  with  any  propriety  or  justice  be  said  to  be 
the  same  with  natural  religion,  or  merely  a  republication 
of  the  laws  of  nature,  yet  the  principal,  the  most  im- 
portant and  fundamental  duties  required  by  Christianity 
are,  nevertheless,  the  same  which  were  enjoined  under 

•Sermons.  1755,  50.  t  Ibid.,  82, 


04  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

the  legal  dispensation  of  Moses,  and  the  same  which  are 
dictated  by  the  light  of  nature."  *  His  great  love  of  in- 
tellectual and  spiritual  freedom  finds  utterance  in  such 
a  statement  as  this :  "  Nor  has  any  order  or  body  of  men 
authority  to  enjoin  any  particular  article  of  faith,  nor 
the  use  of  any  modes  of  worship  not  expressly  pointed 
out  in  the  Scriptures ;  nor  has  the  enjoining  of  such 
articles  a  tendency  to  preserve  the  peace  and  harmony 
of  the  church,  but  directly  the  contrary."  f  Such  sen- 
tences as  the  following  are  frequent  on  Mayhew's  pages, 
and  they  show  clearly  the  trend  of  his  mind :  "  Free  ex- 
amination, weighing  arguments  for  and  against  with 
care  and  impartiality,  is  the  way  to  find  truth."  "  True 
religion  flourishes  the  more,  the  more  people  exercise 
their  right  of  private  judgment."  :{:  "  There  is  nothing 
more  foolish  and  superstitious  than  a  veneration  for 
ancient  creeds  and  doctrines  as  such,  and  nothing  is 
more  unworthy  a  reasonable  creature  than  to  value 
principles  by  their  age,  as  some  men  do  their  wines."  § 

Mayhew  insisted  upon  the  strict  unity  of  God,  "  who 
is  without  rival  or  competitor."  "The  dominion  and 
sovereignty  of  the  universe  is  necessarily  one  and  in 
one,  the  only  living  and  true  God,  who  delegates  such 
measures  of  power  and  authority  to  other  beings  as 
seemeth  good  in  liis  sight."  He  declared  that  the  not 
preserving  of  such  unity  and  supremacy  of  God  on  the 
part  of  Christians  "has  long  been  just  matter  of  re- 
proach to  them  "  ;  and  he  said  the  authority  of  Christ 
is  always  "  exercised  in  subordination  to  God's  will."  || 
His  position  was  that  "  the  faith  of  Christians  does  not 
terminate  in  Christ  as  the  ultimate  object  of  it,  but  it  is 

*  Sermons,  1755,83. 

t  Ibid.,  65.  Ilbid.,  62.  §  Ibid.,  63.  Hlbid,  26S.  269. 


SILENT   ADVANCE    OP   LIBERALISM  65 

extended  through  him  to  the  one  God."  *  The  very 
idea  of  a  mediator  impHes  subordination  as  essential  to 
it.f  His  biographer  says  he  did  not  accept  the  notion 
of  vicarious  suffering,  and,  that  he  was  an  Arian  in  his 
views  of  the  nature  of  Christ.  "  He  was  the  first  clergy- 
man in  New  England  who  expressly  and  openly  opposed 
the  scholastic  doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  Several  others 
declined  pressing  the  Athanasian  Creed,  and  beheved 
strictly  in  the  unity  of  God.  They  also  probably  found 
it  difficult  to  explain  their  views  on  the  subject,  and 
the  great  danger  of  losing  their  good  name  served  to 
prevent  their  speaking  out.  But  Dr.  Mayhew  did  not 
conceal  or  disguise  his  sentiments  on  this  point  any 
more  than  on  others,  such  as  the  pecuhar  tenets  of  Cal- 
vinism. He  explicitly  and  boldly  declared  the  doctrine 
irrational,  unscriptural,  and  directly  contradictory."  J 
He  taught  the  strict  unity  of  God  as  early  as  1753,  ''  in 
the  most  unequivocal  and  plain  manner,  in  his  sermons 
of  that  year."§  What  most  excited  comment  and  objec- 
tion was  that,  in  a  foot-note  to  the  volume  of  his  sermons 
published  in  1755,  Mayhew  said  that  a  Catholic  Council 
had  elevated  the  Virgin  Mary  to  the  position  of  a  fourth 
person  in  the  Godhead,  and  added,  by  way  of  comment : 
"  Neither  Papists  nor  Protestants  should  imagine  that 
they  will  be  understood  by  others  if  they  do  not  under- 
stand themselves.  Nor  should  they  think  that  nonsense 
and  contradictions  can  ever  be  too  sacred  to  be  ridicu- 
lous."    The  ridicule  here  was  not  directed  against  the 

•Sennons,  1755,  275,276. 

t  A.  Bradford,  Memoir  of  the  Life  and  Writings  of  Rev.  Jonathan  May- 
hew, D.D.,  36. 

t  Ibid.,  464. 

§  Letter  from  his  daughter,  quoted  by  Bartol,  The  West  Church  and  its 
Ministers,  129. 


66  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  as  has  been  maintained,  but  the 
foohsh  defences  of  it  made  by  men  wlio'  accepted  its 
"  mysteries  "  as  too  wonderful  for  reason  to  deal  with  in 
a  serious  manner.  This  boldness  of  comment  on  the 
part  of  Mayhew  was  in  harmony  with  his  strong  disap- 
proval of  creed-making  in  all  its  forms.  He  condemned 
creeds  because  they  set  up  "  human  tests  of  orthodoxy 
instead  of  the  infallible  word  of  God,  and  make  other 
terms  of  Christian  communion  than  those  explicitly 
pointed  out  by  the  Gospel."  * 

Dr.  Mayhew  was  succeeded  in  the  West  Church  by 
Rev.  Simeon  Howard  in  1767,  who,  though  he  was 
received  in  a  more  friendly  spirit  by  the  ministers  of  the 
town,  was  not  less  radical  in  his  theology  than  his  pre- 
decessor. Dr.  Howard  was  both  an  Arminian  and  an 
Arian,  and  he  was  "  a  believer  neither  in  the  Trinity, 
nor  in  the  divine  predestination  of  total  depravity,  and 
necessary  ruin  to  any  human  soul."  f  He  was  of  a 
gentle  and  conciliatory  temper,  but  his  preaching  was 
quite  as  thorough-going  in  its  intellectual  earnestness  as 
was  Dr.  Mayhew's. 

Another  preacher  on  the  liberal  side  was  Dr.  Charles 

Chauncy  of   the  First  Church   in    Boston, 

A  Pronounced  ^^^^q  ministry  lasted  from  1727  to  1787. 

Universalist.    -,t  ii  ^     •  £  ^i.  i 

He  was  the  most  vigorous  oi  the  opponents 

of  the  great  awakening,  both  in  his  pulpit  and  through 
the  press.  He  wrote  a  book  on  certain  French  fanatics, 
with  the  purpose  of  shoAving  what  would  be  the  natural 
results  of  the  excesses  of  the  revival ;  he  preached  a 
powerful  sermon  on  enthusiasm,  to  indicate  the  dangers 
of  rehgious  excitement,  when  not  controlled  by  common 

*  Sermons,  293. 

t  C.  A.  Bartol,  The  West  Chnrch  and  its  Ministers. 


^S.  F/^^MAA/' 


SILENT   ADVANCE    OF    LIBERALISM  67 

sense  and  reason ;  and  he  travelled  throughout  New 
England  to  gain  all  the  information  possible  about  the 
revival,  its  methods  and  results,  and  published  his 
Seasonable  Thoughts  on  the  State  of  Religion  in  New 
England  in  1743.  He  had  been  influenced  by  the  read- 
ing of  Taylor,  Tillotson,  Clarke,  and  the  other  latitudi- 
narian  and  rationalistic  writers  of  England;  and  he 
found  the  revival  in  its  excesses  repugnant  to  his  every 
thought  of  what  was  true  and  devout  in  religion. 

Dr.  Chauncy  was  not  an  eloquent  preacher ;  but  he 
was  clear,  earnest,  and  honest.  Many  of  his  sermons 
were  published,  and  his  books  numbered  nearly  a  dozen. 
As  early  as  1739  he  preached  a  sermon  in  favor  of  re- 
ligious toleration.  At  a  later  period  he  said,  "It  is 
with  me  past  all  doubt  that  the  rehgion  of  Jesus  will 
never  be  restored  to  its  primitive  purity,  simplicity,  and 
glory,  until  religious  establishments  are  so  brought 
down  as  to  be  no  more."  *  It  was  this  conviction 
which  made  him  oppose  in  his  pulpit  and  in  two  or 
three  books  the  effort  that  was  made  just  before  the 
Revolution  to  estabhsh  the  English  Church  as  the  state 
form  of  religion  in  the  colonies.  He  said,  in  1767,  that 
the  American  people  would  hazard  everything  dear  to 
them  —  their  estates,  their  Hves  —  rather  than  suffer 
their  necks  to  be  put  under  the  yoke  of  bondage  to  any 
foreign  power  in  state  or  church.f 

In  his  early  life  Dr.  Chauncy  was  an  Arminian,  but 
slowly  he  grew  to  the  acceptance  of  distinctly  Unitarian 
and  Universalist  doctrines.  Near  the  end  of  his  life  he 
published  four  or  five  books  in  which  he  advanced  yery 

*  Reply  to  Dr.  Chandler,  quoted  in  Sprague's  Annals  of  the  Unitarian 
Pulpit,  9, 

t  Remarks  upon  a  Sermon  of  the  Bishop  of  Landaff,  quoted  by  Spraprue. 


68  UNITARIANISM    IN   AMERICA 

liberal  opinions.  One  of  these,  published  in  Boston  in 
1784,  was  on  The  Benevolence  of  the  Deity  fairly  and 
impartially  Considered.  This  book  followed  the  same 
method  and  purpose  as  Butler's  Analogy,  and  aimed  to 
show  that  God  has  manifested  his  goodness  in  creation 
and  in  the  life  of  man.  He  said  that  our  moral  self- 
determination,  or  free  will,  is  our  one  great  gift  from 
God.  He  discussed  the  moral  problems  of  life  in  order 
to  prove  the  benevolence  of  God,  maintaining  that  the 
goodness  we  see  in  him  is  of  the  same  nature  with 
goodness  in  ourselves.  The  year  following  he  pub- 
lished a  book  on  the  Scriptural  account  of  the  Fall  and 
its  Consequences,  in  which  he  rejected  the  doctrine  of 
total  depravity,  and  interpreted  the  new  birth  as  a  result 
of  education  rather  than  of  supernatural  change.  Thus 
he  brought  to  full  statement  the  logical  result  of  the 
half-way  covenant  and  the  teachings  of  Solomon  Stod- 
dard, as  well  as  of  the  connection  of  church  and  state 
in  New  England.  He  saw  that  the  method  of  educa- 
tion is  the  only  one  that  can  justly  be  followed  in  the 
preparation  of  the  young  for  admission  to  a  church  that 
is  sustained  in  any  direct  way  by  the  state. 

Dr.  Chauncy's  great  work  as  a  preacher  and  author  * 
was  brought  to  its  close  by  his  books  in  favor  of  uni- 
versal salvation.  In  1783-84  he  pubhshed  in  Boston 
two  anonymous  pamphlets  advocating  the  salvation  of 
all  men,  and  these  pamphlets  made  no  little  stir.  In 
1784  he  published  in  London  a  work  which  he  called 
The    Mystery  hid   from  Ages  and    Generations,  made 

•Chauncy's  many  published  sermons  and  volumes  are  carefully  enu- 
merated by  Paid  Leicester  Ford  in  his  Bibliotheca  Chaunciana,  a  List  of  the 
Writings  of  Charles  Chauncy.  He  gives  the  titles  of  sixty-one  books  and 
pamphlets  published  by  Chauncy,  and  of  eighty-eight  about  him  or  in 
reply  to  him. 


SILENT   ADVANCE    OF    LIBERALISM  69 

manifest  by  the  Gospel  Revelation ;  or,  The  Salvation 
of  All  Men  the  Grand  Thing  aimed  at  in  the  Scheme 
of  God :  By  One  who  wishes  well  to  the  whole  Human 
Race.  In  this  book  Dr.  Chauncy  made  an  elaborate 
study  of  the  New  Testament,  in  order  to  prove  that 
salvation  is  to  be  miiversal.  Christ  died  for  all,  there- 
fore all  will  be  saved;  because  all  have  sumed  in 
Adam,  therefore  all  will  be  made  alive  in  Christ.  He 
looked  to  a  future  probation,  to  a  long  period  after 
death,  when  the  opportunity  of  salvation  will  be  open 
to  all.  He  maintained  that  the  misery  threatened 
against  the  wicked  in  Scripture  is  that  of  this  inter- 
mediate state  between  the  earthly  life  and  tlie  time 
when  God  shall  be  all  in  all.  He  held  that  sin  will  be 
punished  hereafter  in  proportion  to  depravity,  and  that 
none  will  be  saved  until  they  come  into  willing  har- 
mony with  Clirist,  who  will  finally  be  able  to  win  all 
men  to  himself,  otherwise  the  power  of  God  will  be  set 
at  naught  and  his  good  will  towards  men  frustrated  of 
its  purpose.  In  the  future  state  of  discipHne,  punish- 
ment will  be  inflicted  with  salutary  effect,  and  thus  the 
moral  recovery  of  mankind  will  be  accomplished. 

Another  leader  was  Dr.  Samuel  West,  of  Dartmouth, 
now  New  Bedford,  where  he  was  settled  in 

X  ^"^  ,  *°    1760,  and  where  he  preached  for  more  than 
of  Mark.  '  5 

forty  years.*     He  rejected   the   doctrines  of 

fore-ordination,  election,  total  depravity,  and  the  Trin- 
ity. In  preacliing  the  election  sermon  of  1776,  he  took 
the  ground  of  an  undisguised  rationalism.  "  A  revela- 
tion," he  said,  "  pretending  to  be  from  God,  that  con- 
tradicts any  part   of   natural  laws  ought   immediately 

*Sprague'8  Annals,  49;  W.  J.  Potter,  History  of  the  First  Congrega- 
tional Society,  New  Bedford. 


70  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

to  be  rejected  as  imposture  ;  for  the  deity  cannot  make 
a  law  contrary  to  the  huv  of  nature  without  acting 
contrary  to  liimself, —  a  thing  in  the  strictest  sense  im- 
possible, for  that  which  implies  contradiction  is  not  an 
object  of  Divine  Power."  The  cardinal  idea  of  West's 
position,  as  of  that  of  most  of  the  liberal  men  of  his 
time,  was  stated  by  him  in  one  sentence,  when  he  said, 
"To  preach  Christ  is  to  preach  the  whole  system  of 
divinity,  as  it  consists  of  both  natural  and  revealed 
religion."  * 

In  1751  Rev.  Thomas  Barnard,  of  Newbury,  was  dis- 
missed from  his  parish  because  he  was  regarded  as 
unconverted  by  the  revivahstic  portion  of  his  congrega- 
tion; and  in  1755  he  was  settled  over  the  First  Church 
in  Salem.  He  was  an  Arminian,  and  at  the  same  tune 
an  Arian  of  the  school  of  Samuel  Clarke.  His  son 
Thomas  was  settled  over  the  North  Church  of  Salem  in 
1773,  which  church  was  organized  especially  for  him 
by  his  admirers  in  the  First  Church.  He  followed  in 
the  theological  opinions  of  his  father,  but  probably  be- 
came somewhat  more  pronounced  in  his  Arian  views, 
so  that,  after  his  death.  Dr.  Channing  called  him  a  Uni- 
tarian, It  is  not  surprising  that  the  younger  Barnard 
should  have  been  liberal  in  his  opinions  and  spirit, 
when  we  find  his  theological  instructor.  Rev.  Samuel 
Williams,  at  his  ordination,  saying  to  him  in  the  ser- 
mon preached  on  that  occasion,  "Be  of  no  sect  or 
party  but  that  of  good  men,  and  to  all  such  (whatever 
theii'  differences  among  themselves)  let  your  heart  be 
opened."  On  another  similar  occasion  Mr.  Williams 
said  that  it  had  always  been  his  advice  to  examine  with 
caution  and  modesty,  "  but  with  the  greatest  freedom, 

*  Sprague's  Annals,  42. 


SILENT   ADVANCE   OF   LIBERALISM  71 

all  religious  matters."  *  It  was  said  of  the  younger 
Barnard  that  he  believed  "  the  final  salvation  of  no  man 
depended  upon  the  belief  or  disbelief  of  those  specula- 
tive opinions  about  which  men,  equally  learned  and 
pious,  differ."  When  it  was  said  to  him  by  one  of  his 
parishioners,  "Dr.  Barnard,  I  never  heard  you  preach 
a  sermon  upon  the  Trinity,"  the  reply  was,  "  And  you 
never  will."  f 

In  1779  Rev.  John  Prince  was  settled  over  the  First 
Church  in  Salem,  as  the  colleague  of  the  elder  Barnard. 
He  was  an  Arian,  but  in  no  combative  or  dogmatic 
manner.  He  was  a  student,  a  lover  of  science,  and  an 
advanced  thinker  and  investigator  for  his  time.  In 
1787  he  in\dted  the  Universalist,  Rev.  John  Murray, 
into  his  pulpit,  then  an  act  of  the  greatest  hberality.J 
Another  lover  of  science,  Rev.  William  Bentley,  was 
settled  over  the  East  Church  of  Salem,  as  colleague  to 
Rev.  James  Diman,  in  1782.  The  senior  pastor  was  a 
strict  Calvinist,  but  the  parish  called  as  his  colleague 
this  young  man  of  pronounced  liberal  views  in  theology. 
As  early  as  1784  Mr.  Bentley  was  interested  in  the 
teachings  of  the  English  Unitarian,  WiUiam  Hazlitt,§ 
who  at  that  time  visited  New  England.  And  in  1786 
he  was  reading  Joseph  Priestley's  book  against  the 
Trinity  with  approval.  He  soon  after  commended  Dr. 
Priestley's  short  tracts  as  gi\'ing  a  good  statement  of 
the  simple  doctrines  of  Christianity.  ||     He  insisted  upon 

*  George  Batchelor,  Social  Equilibrium,  2C3,  264. 

tibid.,  2G5. 

t  Sprague'a  Annals,  131. 

§  Father  of  the  essajist  of  the  same  name. 

llJoseph  Priestley,  1733-1804,  was  one  of  the  ablest  of  English  Unita- 
rians. Educated  in  non-couformist  schools,  in  1755  he  became  a  Presby- 
terian minister.  In  1701  he  became  <a  tutor  in  a  non-conformist  academy, 
and  in  17G7  he  was  settled  over  a  congregation  in  Leeds.     He  was  the 


72  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

free  inquiry  in  religion  from  the  beginning  of  his  min- 
istry, and  not  long  after  he  began  preaching  -he  became 
substantially  a  Unitarian.*  In  1789  he  maintained 
that  "the  full  conviction  of  a  future  moral  retribution  " 
is  "  the  great  point  of  Christian  faith."  f  It  has  been 
claimed  that  Mr.  Bentley  was  the  first  minister  in  New 
England  to  take  distinctly  the  Unitarian  position,  and 
there  are  good  reasons  for  this  understanding  of  his 
doctrinal  attitude.^  Dr.  Bentley  corresponded  with 
scholars  in  Europe,  as  he  also  did  with  Arab  chiefs  in 
their  own  tongue.  He  knew  of  the  religions  of  India, 
and  he  seems  to  have  given  them  appreciative  recogni- 
tion. The  shipmasters  and  foreign  merchants  of  Salem, 
as  they  came  in  contact  with  the  Oriental  races  and  re- 
ligions, discarded  their  dogmatic  Christianity;  and 
these  men,  almost  without  exception,  were  connected 
with  the  churches  that  became  Unitarian.  It  may  be 
accepted  as  a  very  interesting  fact  that  "  the  two  potent 
influences  shaping  the  ancient  Puritanism  of  Salem  into 
Unitarianism  were  foreign  commerce  and  contact  with 
the  Oriental  rehgions."  § 

librarian  of  Lord  Slielbume  from  1774  until  he  was  settled  in  Birmingham 
as  minister,  in  1780.  In  1791  a  mob  destroyed  his  house,  his  naanuscripts, 
and  his  scientific  apparatus,  because  of  his  liberal  political  views.  After 
three  years  as  a  preacher  in  Hackney,  he  removed  to  the  United  States  in 
179-1,  and  settled  at  Northumberland  in  Pennsylvania,  where  the  remainder 
of  his  life  was  spent.  He  published  one  hundred  and  thirty  distinct  works, 
of  which  those  best  remembered  are  his  Institutes  of  Natural  and  Re- 
vealed Religion,  A  History  of  the  Corruptions  of  Christianity,  and  A 
General  History  of  the  Christian  Church  to  the  Fall  of  the  Western  Em- 
pire. He  was  the  discoverer  of  oxygen,  and  holds  a  high  place  in  the 
history  of  science.  He  was  a  materialist,  but  believed  in  immortality ; 
and  he  believed  that  Christ  was  a  man  in  his  nature. 

*  C.  S.  Osgood  and  H.  M.  Batchelder,  Historical  Sketch  of  Salem,  86. 
"  He  took  strong  Arminian  grounds ;  and  under  his  lead  the  church  became 
practically  Unitarian  in  1785,  and  was  one  of  the  first  churches  in  America 
to  adopt  that  faith." 

t  George  Batchelor,  Social  Equilibrium,  270. 

J  Ibid.,  267.  §  Ibid.,  283. 


SILENT   ADVANCE   OF   LIBERALISM  73 

The  formation  of  a  second  parish  in  Worcester,  in 
1785,  was  a  significant  step  in  the  progress  of  hberal 
opinion.  This  was  the  first  time  when  a  town,  outside 
of  Boston,  was  divided  into  two  parishes  of  the  Con- 
gregational order  on  doctrinal  grounds.  On  the  death 
of  the  minister  of  the  first  parish  several  candidates 
were  heard,  and  among  them  Rev.  Aaron  Bancroft,  who 
was  a  pronounced  Arminian  and  Arian.  The  majority 
preferred  a  Calvinist ;  but  the  more  intelhgent  minority 
insisted  upon  the  settlement  of  Mr.  Bancroft, —  a  result 
they  finally  accomplished  by  the  organization  of  a  new 
parish.  It  was  a  severe  struggle  by  which  this  result 
was  brought  about,  every  effort  being  made  to  defeat  it ; 
and  for  many  years  Mr.  Bancroft  was  almost  completely 
isolated  in  his  religious  opinions.* 

It  must  not  be  understood  that  there  was  any  marked  ^ 

separation  in  the  churches  as  yet  on 
The  Second  Period    j      ,   •      i  j  r^  ^    ■    • 

r  T>    ■    ,  doctrinal    grounds.       Calvinism     was 

of  Revivals.  o 

mildly  taught,  and  ministers  of  all 
shades  of  opinion  exchanged  pulpits  freely  with  each 
other.  They  met  in  ministerial  associations,  and  in  va- 
rious duties  of  ordinations,  councils,  and  other  ecclesi- 
astical gatherings.  The  preacliing  was  practical,  not 
doctrinal ;  and  controverted  subjects  were  for  the  most 
part  not  touched  upon  in  the  pulpits.  About  1780,  how- 
ever, began  a  revival  of  Calvinism  on  the  part  of  Drs. 
Bellamy,  Emmons,  Hopkins,  and  others ;  and  especially 
did  it  take  a  strenuous  form  in  the  works  of  Samuel 
Hopkins.  The  New  Divinity,  as  it  was  sometimes 
called,  taught  that  unconditional  submission  to  God  is 
the  duty  of  every  human  being,  that  we  should  be  will- 
ing to  be  damned  for  the  glory  of  God,  and  that  the 

*  E.  Smalley,  The  Worcester  Pulpit,  226,  232. 


74  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

attitude  of  God  towards  men  is  one  of  unbounded  be- 
nevolence. This  newer  Calvinism  was  full  of  incentives 
to  missionary  enterprise,  and  was  zealous  for  the  mak- 
ing of  converts.  Under  the  impulse  of  its  greater  en- 
thusiasm there  began,  about  1790,  a  series  of  revivals 
which  continued  to  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury. This  was  the  second  great  period  of  revivalism  in 
New  England.  It  was  far  better  organized  than  the 
first  one,  while  its  methods  were  more  systematic  and 
under  better  guidance ;  and  the  results  were  great  in 
the  building  of  churches,  in  estabhshing  missionary  out- 
posts, and  in  awakening  an  active  religious  life  amongst 
the  people.  It  aroused  much  opposition  to  the  liberals, 
and  it  made  the  orthodox  party  more  aggressive.  Just 
as  the  great  awakening  developed  opposition  to  the  lib- 
erals of  that  day,  and  served  to  bring  into  view  the  two 
tendencies  in  the  Congregational  churches,  so  this  new 
revival  period  accentuated  the  divergencies  between 
those  who  believed  in  the  deity  of  Christ  and  those 
who  believed  in  his  subordinate  nature,  and  led  to  the 
first  assuming  of  positions  on  both  sides.  There  can  be 
little  doubt  that  it  put  a  check  upon  the  friendly  spirit 
that  had  existed  in  the  churches,  and  that  it  began  a  di- 
vision which  ultimately  resulted  in  their  separation  into 
two  denominations.* 

Such  details  of  individual  and  local  opinion  as  have 
here  been  given  are  all  the  more  necessary  because  there 
was  at  this  time  no  consensus  of  belief  on  the  part  of 

*See  the  Unitarian  Advocate  and  Religious  Miscellany,  January,  1831, 
new  series,  III.  27,  for  Aaron  Bancroft's  recollections  of  this  period.  In 
the  same  volume  was  published  Ezra  Ripley's  reminiscences,  contained  in 
the  March,  April,  and  May  numbers.  They  are  both  of  much  importance 
for  the  history  of  this  period.  Also  the  third  volume  of  first  series,  June, 
1829,  gives  an  important  letter  from  Francis  Parkman  concerning  Uni- 
tarianism  in  Boston  in  1812. 


SILENT   ADVANCE    OF    LIBERALISM  75 

the  more  liberal  men.  Each  man  thought  for  himself, 
but  he  was  veiy  reluctant  to  depart  from  the  old  ways 
in  ritual  and  doctrine ;  and  if  the  ministers  consulted 
with  each  other,  and  gave  each  other  confidential  assist- 
ance, there  was  certainly  nothing  in  the  way  of  public 
conference  or  of  party  assimilation  and  encouragement. 
A  \'isitor  to  Boston  in  1791  wrote  of  the  ministers 
there  that  "  they  are  so  diverse  in  their  sentiments  that 
they  cannot  agree  on  any  point  in  theology.  Some  are 
Calvinists,  some  Universalists,  some  Arminians,  and 
one,  at  least,  is  a  Socinian,"  *  •  Another  visitor,  this 
time  in  1801,  found  the  range  of  opinions  much  wider. 
In  all  the  ministers  of  Boston  he  found  only  one  rigid 
Trinitarian ;  one  was  a  follower  of  Edwards,  several 
were  Arminians,  two  were  Socinians,  one  a  Universalist, 
and  one  a  Unitarian.!  This  writer  says  it  was  not 
difficult  to  find  out  what  men  did  not  believe,  but  there 
was  as  yet  no  pubhc  line  of  demarcation  among  the 
clergy.  There  being  no  outward  pressure  to  bring  men 
into  uniformity,  no  institution  or  body  of  men  with 
authority  to  require  assent  to  a  standard  of  orthodoxy, 
little  attention  was  given  to  merely  doctrinal  interests. 
The  position  taken  was  that  presented  by  Rev.  John 
Tucker  of  Newbury,  in  the  convention  sermon  of  1768, 
when  he  said  that  no  one  has  any  right  whatever  to 
legislate  in  behalf  of  Christ,  who  alone  has  authority  to 
fix  the  terms  of  the  Gospel.  He  said  that,  as  all  be- 
lievers and  teachers  of  Christianity  are  "  perfectly  upon 
a  level  with  one  another,  none  of  them  can  have  any 
authority  even  to  interpret  the  laws  of  this  kingdom  for 
others,  so  as  to  require  their  assent  to  such  interpreta- 

*  Life  of  Ashbel  Green,  President  of  Princeton  College,  235. 
t  Life  of  Archibald  Alexander,  '252. 


76  UNITARIANISM    IN    A:MER1CA 

tion."  He  also  declared  that  as  "  every  Christian  has 
and  must  have  a  right  to  judge  for  himself  of  the  true 
sense  and  meaning  of  all  gospel  truths,  no  doctrines, 
therefore,  no  laws,  no  religious  rites,  no  terms  of  ac- 
ceptance with  God  or  of  admission  to  Christian  privi- 
leges not  found  in  the  gospel,  are  to  be  looked  upon  by 
him  as  any  part  of  this  divine  system,  nor  to  be  received 
and  submitted  to  as  the  doctrines  and  laws  of  Christ."  * 
Of  Rev.  John  Prince,  the  minister  of  the  First  Church 
in  Salem  during  the  last  years  of  the  century,  it  was 
•said  that  he  never  "  preached  distinctly  upon  any  of  the 
points  of  controversy  which,  in  his  day,  agitated  the 
New  England  churches."  f  The  minister  of  Roxbury, 
Rev.  Eliphalet  Porter,  said  of  the  Calvinistic  beliefs, 
that  there  was  not  one  of  them  he  considered  "  essential 
to  the  Christian  faith  or  character."  :|: 

These  quotations  will  indicate  the  liberty  of  spirit  that 

existed  in  the  New  England  churches 
King's  Chapel  ^^    ^-^^    j^^^^     ^^^^   ^^  ^^^  eighteenth 

becomes  Unitarian.  *'  ° 

century,  especially  in  the  neighborhood 

of  Boston,  and  along  the  seacoast ;  and  also  the  diver- 
sity of  opinion  on  doctrinal  subjects  among  the  minis- 
ters. It  is  impossible  here  to  follow  minutely  the 
stages  of  doctrinal  evolution,  but  a  few  dates  and  inci- 
dents will  serve  to  indicate  the  several  steps  that  were 
taken.  The  first  of  these  was  the  settlement  of  Rev. 
James  Freeman  over  King  s  Chapel  in  1782,  and  his 
ordination  by  the  congregation  in  1787,  the  hturgy 
having  been  revised  two  years  earUer  to  conform  to  the 
liberal  opinions  of  the  minister  and  people.  These 
changes  were  brought  about  largely  through  the  influ- 

*  Convention  Sermon,  12,  13. 

t  Sprague,  Annals  of  Unitarian  Pulpit,  131.  }  Ibid.,  159. 


SILENT   ADVANCE    OF    LIBERALISM  77 

eiice  of  Rev.  William  Hazlitt,  the  father  of  the  essayist 
and  critic  of  the  same  name,  who  had  been  settled  over 
several  of  the  smaller  Unitarian  churches  in  Great 
Britain.  In  the  spring  of  1783  he  visited  the  United 
States,  and  spent  several  months  in  Philadelphia.  He 
gave  a  course  of  lectures  on  the  Evidences  of  Chris- 
tianity in  the  college  there,  which  were  largely  attended. 
He  preached  for  several  weeks  in  a  country  parish  in 
Maryland,  he  had  invitations  to  settle  in  Charleston 
and  Pittsburg,  and  he  had  an  opportunity  to  become 
the  president  of  a  college  by  subscribing  to  the  doc- 
trinal tests  required,  which  he  would  not  do ;  for  "  he 
would  sooner  die  in  a  ditch  than  submit  to  human 
authority  in  matters  of  faith."  *  In  June,  1784,  he 
preached  in  the  Brattle  Street  Church  of  Boston,  and 
he  anticipated  becoming  its  minister;  but  his  pro- 
nounced doctrinal  position  seems  to  have  made  that  im- 
possible. He  also  preached  in  Hingham,  and  some  of 
the  people  there  desired  liis  settlement ,  but  the  aged 
Dr.  Gay  would  not  resign.  It  would  appear  that  he 
preached  for  Dr.  Chauncy,  for  Mr.  Barnes  in  Salem, 
and  also  in  several  pulpits  on  Cape  Cod.  He  gave  in 
Boston  his  course  of  lectures  on  the  Evidences  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  it  was  received  with  much  favor  by  large 
audiences.  The  winter  of  1784-85  was  spent  by 
Mr.  Hazlitt  in  Hallowell,  Me.,  in  which  place  was  a 
small  group  of  wealthy  Enghsh  Unitarians,  led  by  Sam- 
uel Vaughan,  by  whom  Mr.  Hazlitt  had  been  entertained 
in  Philadelphia.  Mr.  HazUtt  returned  to  Boston  in  the 
spring  of  1785,  and  had  some  hope  of  setthng  in  Rox- 
bury.  In  the  autumn,  however,  finding  no  definite 
promise  of  employment,  he  returned  to  England.     He 

*  This  is  the  statement  of  his  daughter. 


78  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

afterward  corresponded  with  Dr.  Howard,  of  the  West 
Church  in  Boston,  and  with  Dr.  Lathrop,  of  West 
Springfield.  The  volumes  of  sermons  he  published  in 
1786  and  1790  were  sold  in  this  country,  and  one  or 
two  of  them  republished. 

It  would  appear  that  Mr.  Hazlitt's  positive  Unitari- 
anism  made  it  impossible  for  him  to  settle  over  any- 
church  in  Boston  or  its  neighborhood.  In  1784  he 
assisted  Dr.  Freeman  in  revising  the  Prayer  Book,  the 
form  of  prayer  used  by  Dr.  Lindsey  *  in  the  Essex  Street 
Chapel  in  London  being  adapted  to  the  new  conditions 
at  King's  Chapel.  He  also  republished  in  Philadelphia 
and  Boston  many  of  Dr.  Priestley's  Unitarian  tracts, 
while  writing  much  himself  for  pubHcation.f  In  his 
correspondence  with  Theophilus  Lindsey,  Dr.  Freeman 
wrote  of  Mr.  Hazlitt  as  a  pious,  zealous,  and  intelhgent 
minister,  to  whose  instructions  and  conversation  he  was 
particularly  indebted. $     "Before  Mr.  Hazhtt  came  to 

•Theophilus  Lindsey,  1723-1808,  was  a  curate  in  London,  then  the  tutor 
of  the  Duke  of  Northumberland,  and  afterward  a  rector  in  Yorkshire  and 
Dorsetshire.  In  17G3  he  was  settled  at  Catteriek,  in  Yorkshire,  where  his 
study  of  the  Bible  led  him  to  doubt  the  truth  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trin- 
ity. In  1771  he  joined  with  others  in  a  petition  to  Parliament  asking  that 
clerg-ymen  might  not  be  required  to  subscribe  to  the  thirty-nine  articles. 
When  it  was  rejected  a  second  time  he  resigned,  went  to  Loudon,  and 
opened  in  a  room  in  Essex  Street,  April  1774,  the  first  permanent  Unitarian 
meetmg  in  England.  A  chapel  was  built  for  him  in  1778,  and  he  preached 
there  imtil  1793.  He  published,  in  1783,  An  Historical  View  of  the  State 
of  the  Unitarian  Doctrine  and  Worship  from  the  Reformation  to  our  own 
Tunes,  two  volumes  of  sermons,  and  other  works.  In  1774  he  published 
a  revised  Prayer  Book  according  to  the  plan  suggested  by  Dr.  Samuel 
Clarke,  which  was  used  in  the  Essex  Street  Chapel. 

t  Four  Generations  of  a  Literary  Family :  The  Hazlitts  in  England,  Ire- 
land, and  America,  23,  26,  30,  40,  43,  50 ;  Lamb  and  Hazhtt :  Further  Let- 
ters and  Records,  11-15. 

t Monthly  Repository,  III.,  305.  Mr.  Hazlitt  "arrived  at  Boston  May 
15,  1784 ;  and,  having  a  letter  to  Mr.  Eliot,  who  received  him  with  great 
kindness,  he  was  introduced  on  that  very  day  to  the  Boston  Association  of 


SILENT   ADVANCE   OF   LIBERALISM  79 

Boston,"  Dr.  Freeman  wrote,  "the  Trinitarian  doxol- 
ogy  was  almost  universally  used.  That  honest,  good 
man  prevailed  upon  several  respectable  ministers  to 
omit  it.  Since  his  departure  the  number  of  those  who 
repeat  only  Scriptural  doxologies  has  greatly  increased, 
so  that  there  are  now  many  churches  in  which  the 
worship  is  strictly  Unitarian."  * 

Begiiming  with  the  year  1786,  several  of  the  hberal 
men  in  Boston  were  in  correspondence  with  the  leading 
Unitarian  ministers  in  London,  and  their  letters  were 
afterward  published  by  Thomas  Belsham  in  his  Life  of 
Theophilus  Lindsey.  From  this  work  we  learn  that 
Dr.  Lindsey  presented  his  own  theological  works  and 
those  of  Dr.  Priestley  to  Harvard  College,  and  that 
they  were  read  with  great  avidity  by  the  students.f 
One   of  the   Boston  correspondents,   writing  in   1783, 

Ministers.  The  venerable  Chauncy,  at  whose  house  it  happened  to  be  held, 
entered  into  a  familiar  conversation  with  him,  and  showed  him  every  pos- 
sible respect  as  he  learned  that  he  had  been  acquainted  with  Dr.  Price. 
Without  knowing  at  the  time  anything  of  the  occasion  which  led  to  it, 
ordination  happened  to  be  the  general  subject  of  discussion.  After  the 
different  gentlemen  had  severally  delivered  their  opinions,  the  stranger 
was  requested  to  declare  his  sentiments,  who  unhesitatingly  replied  that 
the  people  or  the  congregation  who  chose  any  man  to  be  their  minister 
were  his  proper  ordainers.  Mr.  Freeman,  upon  hearing  this,  jumped  from 
his  seat  in  a  kind  of  transport,  sajing,  '  1  wish  you  could  prove  that.  Sir,' 
The  gentleman  answered  that  '  few  things  could  admit  of  an  easier  proof.' 
And  from  that  moment  a  thorough  intimacy  commenced  between  him 
and  Mr.  Freeman.  Soon  after,  the  Boston  prints  being  under  no  tm- 
primatur,  he  published  several  letters  in  supporting  the  cause  of  Mr. 
Freeman.  At  the  solicitation  of  Mr.  Freeman  he  also  published  a  Script- 
ural Confutation  of  the  Thirty-nine  Articles.  Notice  being  circulated  that 
this  publication  would  appear  on  a  particular  day,  the  printer,  apprised  of 
this  circumstance,  threw  ofF  a  hundred  papers  beyond  his  usual  number, 
and  had  not  one  paper  remaining  upon  his  hands  at  noon.  This  publication 
in  its  consequences  converted  Mr.  Freeman's  congregation  into  a  Unitarian 
church,  which,  as  Mr.  Freeman  acknowledged,  could  never  have  been  done 
without  the  labors  of  this  gentleman." 

•American  Unitarianism,  from  Belsham's  Life  of  Lindsey,  12,  note. 

t  American  Unitarianlsra,  Ifi. 


80  UNITARIANISM    IN   AMERICA 

names  James  Bowdoin,  governor  of  Massachusetts  in 
1785  and  1786,  General  Benjamin  Lincoln,  and  General 
Henry  Knox  as  among  the  liberal  men.  He  said : 
"  There  are  many  others  besides,  in  our  legislature,  of 
similar  sentiments.  While  so  many  of  our  great  men 
are  thus  on  the  side  of  truth  and  free  inquiry,  they  •will 
necessarily  influence  many  of  the  common  people."  * 
He  also  said  that  people  were  less  frightened  at  the 
Socinian  name  than  formerly,  and  that  this  form  of 
Christianity  was  beginning  to  have  some  public  advo- 
cates. The  only  minister  who  preached  in  favor  of  it 
was  Mr.  Bentley,  of  Salem,  who  was  described  as  "  a 
young  man  of  a  bold,  independent  mind,  of  strong,  nat- 
ural powers,  and  of  more  skill  in  the  learned  languages 
than  any  person  of  his  years  in  the  state."  Mr.  Bent- 
ley's  congregation  was  spoken  of  as  uncommonly  lib- 
eral, not  alarmed  at  any  improvements,  and  pleased 
with  his  introduction  into  the  pulpit  of  various  modern 
translations  of  the  Scriptures,  especially  of  the  prophe- 
cies, f 

In  March,  1792,  a  Unitarian  congregation  was  formed 

in  Portland  under  the  leadership  of 
Other  Unitarian  Thomas  Oxnard,  who  had  been  an  Epis- 
Movements.  ,  '  •    ■,        •  ■, 

copalian.      Having  been  supplied   with 

the  works  of  Priestley  and  Lindsey  through  the  gener- 
osity of  Dr.  Freeman,  he  became  a  Unitarian ;  and  his 
personal  intercourse  with  Dr.  Freeman  gave  strength  to 
his  changed  convictions.  A  number  of  persons  of  prop- 
erty and  respectability  of  character  joined  him  in  ac- 
cepting his  new  faith.  In  writing  to  his  friend  in 
November,  1788,  Mr.  Oxnard  said:  "I  cannot  express 
to  you  the  avidity  with  which  these  Unitarian  public a- 

*  American  Unitarianism,  note.  t  Ibid.,  20. 


SILENT   ADVANCE   OP    LIBERALISM  81 

tions  are  sought  after.  Our  friends  here  are  clearly 
convinced  that  the  Unitarian  doctrine  will  soon  become 
the  prevailing  opinion  in  this  country.  Three  years 
ago  I  did  not  know  a  single  Unitarian  in  this  part  of 
the  country  besides  myself ;  and  now,  entirely  from  the 
various  publications  you  have  furnished,  a  decent  soci- 
ety might  be  collected  in  this  and  the  neighboring 
towns."  *  In  1792  an  attempt  was  made  to  introduce 
a  revised  liturgy  into  the  Episcopal  church  of  Portland ; 
and,  when  this  was  resisted,  a  majority  of  the  congrega- 
tion seceded  and  formed  a  Unitarian  society,  with  Mr. 
Oxnard  as  the  minister.  This  society  was  continued 
for  a  few  years,  and  then  ceased  to  exist.  The  members 
joined  the  first  Congregational  church,  which  in  1809 
became  Unitarian.!  Also  in  1792  was  organized  a  Uni- 
tarian congregation  in  Saco,  under  the  auspices  of  Hon. 
Samuel  Thatcher,  a  member  of  Congress  and  a  Massa- 
chusetts judge.  $  Mr.  Thatcher  had  been  an  unbe- 
liever, but  through  the  reading  of  Priestley's  works  he 
became  a  sincere  and  rational  Christian.  He  met  with 
much  opposition  from  his  neighbors,  and  an  effort  was 
made  to  prevent  his  re-election  to  Congress ;  but  it  did 
not  succeed.  The  Saco  congregation  was  at  first  con- 
nected with  that  at  Portland,  and  it  seems  to  have 
ceased  its  existence  at  the  same  time.§ 

*  American  Umtarianism,  17. 

t  "  Oxnard  was  a  merchant,  bom  in  Boston  in  1740,  but  settled  in  Port- 
land, where  he  married  the  daughter  of  General  Preble,  in  1787.  He  was 
a  Loyalist,  and  fled  from  the  country  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war.  He  re- 
turned to  Portland  in  1787.  A  few  years  later,  1792,  the  Episcopal  church 
being  destitute  of  a  minister,  he  was  engaged  as  lay  reader,  -idth  the  inten- 
tion of  taking  orders.  His  Unitarianism  put  a  sudden  end  to  his  Episco- 
pacy, but  not  to  hia  preaching.  He  gathered  a  small  congregation  in  the 
school-house,  and  preached  sometimes  sermons  of  his  own,  but  more  often 
of  other  men.  He  died  in  1709."  John  C.  Perkins,  How  the  First  Parish 
became  Unitarian, —  historical  sermon  preached  in  Portland. 

t  American  Unitarianism,  18.  §  Ibid.,  17,  20. 


82  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

In  1794  Dr.  Freeman  wrote  that  Unitarianism  was 
making  considerable  progress  in  the  southern  counties 
of  Massachusetts.  In  Barnstable  he  reported  "  a  very 
large  body  of  Unitarians."  *  Writing  in  May,  1796, 
he  states  that  Unitarianism  is  on  the  increase  in  Maine, 
that  it  is  making  a  considerable  increase  in  the  southern 
part  of  Massachusetts,  and  that  a  few  seeds  have  been 
sown  in  Vermont.  He  thinks  it  may  be  losing  ground 
in  some  places,  but  that  it  is  growing  in  others.  "  I  con- 
sider it,"  he  writes,  "  as  one  of  the  most  happy  effects 
which  have  resulted  from  my  feeble  exertions  in  the 
Unitarian  cause,  that  they  have  introduced  me  to  the 
knowledge  and  friendship  of  some  of  the  most  valuable 
characters  of  the  present  age,  men  of  enlightened  heads 
and  benevolent  hearts.  Though  it  is  a  standing  article 
of  most  of  our  social  libraries,  that  nothing  of  a  con- 
troversial character  should  be  purchased,  yet  any  book  ^ 
which  is  presented  is  freely  accepted.  I  have  found 
means,  therefore,  of  introducing  into  them  some  of  the 
Unitarian  Tracts  with  which  you  have  kindly  furnished 
me.  There  are  few  persons  who  have  not  read  them 
with  avidity ;  and  when  read  they  cannot  fail  to  make 
an  impression  upon  the  minds  of  many.  From  these 
and  other  causes  the  Unitarian  doctrine  appears  to 
be  still  upon  the  increase.  I  am  acquainted  Avith  a 
number  of  ministers,  particularly  in  the  southern  part 
of  this  state,  who  avow  and  pubhcly  preach  this  senti- 
ment. There  are  others  more  cautious,  who  content 
themselves  with  leading  their  hearers  by  a  course  of 
rational  but  prudent  sermons  gradually  and  insensibly 
to  embrace  it.  Though  this  latter  mode  is  not  what  I 
entirely  approve,  yet  it  produces  good  effects.     For  the 

*  American  Unitarianism,  '24. 


SILENT   ADVANCE   OF   LIBERALISM  83 

people  are  thus  kept  out  of  the  reach  of  false  opinions, 
and  are  prepared  for  the  impressions  which  will  be 
made  on  them  by  more  bold  and  ardent  successors,  who 
will  probably  be  raised  up  when  these  timid  characters 
are  removed  off  the  stage.  The  clergy  are  generally 
the  first  who  begin  to  speculate ;  but  the  people  soon 
follow,  where  they  are  so  much  accustomed  to  read  and 
enquire."  * 

In  1793  was  pubhshed  Jeremy  Belknap's  biography 
of  Samuel  Watts,  who  was  an  Arian,  or,  at  least,  held 
to  the  subordinate  nature  of  Christ.  This  book  had  a 
very  considerable  influence  in  directing  attention  to  the 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  and  in  inducing  inquiring  men 
to  study  the  subject  critically  for  themselves.  In  1797 
Dr.  Belknap  became  the  minister  of  the  Federal  Street 
Church  in  Boston,  and  his  preacliing  was  from  that  time 
distinctly  Unitarian.  Dr.  Joseph  Priestley  removed  to 
Philadelphia  in  1794,  and  he  was  at  first  listened  to  by 
large  congregations.  His  humanitarian  theology  —  that 
is,  his  denial  of  divinity  as  well  as  deity  to  Christ  — 
probably  had  the  effect  of  limiting  the  interest  in  his 
teachings.  However,  a  small  congregation  was  estab- 
lished in  Philadelphia  in  1796,  formed  mostly  of 
Enghsh  Unitarians.  A  congregation  was  gathered  at 
Northumberland  in  1794,  to  which  place  Priestley  re- 
moved in  that  year. 

In  the  year  1800  a  division  took  place  in  the  church 
at  Plymouth,  owing  to  the  growth  there  of  liberal  senti- 
ments. These  began  to  manifest  themselves  as  early  as 
1742,  as  a  reaction  from  the  intense  revivalism  of  that 
period.f     Rev.  Chandler  Robbias,  who  was  strictly  Cal- 

*  American  Unitarianism,  22. 
t  Church  Records,  in  MS.,  II.  7. 


84  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMEEICA 

vinistic  in  his  theology,  was  the  minister  from  1760 
until  his  death  in  1799.  In  1794  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  persons  in  the  parish  discussed  the  desirability 
of  organizing  another  church,  in  order  to  secure  more 
hberal  preaching.  It  was  recognized  that  Mr.  Robbins 
was  an  old  man,  that  he  was  very  much  beloved,  and 
that  in  a  few  years  the  opportunity  desired  would  be 
presented  without  needless  agitation ;  and  the  effort 
wa8  therefore  deferred.  In  November,  1799,  at  a 
meeting  held  for  the  election  of  a  new  pastor,  twenty- 
three  members  of  the  church  were  in  favor  of  Rev. 
James  Kendall,  the  only  candidate,  while  fifteen  were  in 
opposition.  When  the  parish  voted,  two  hundred  and 
fifty-three  favored  Mr.  Kendall,  and  fifteen  were  opposed. 
In  September,  1800,  the  conservative  minority,  number- 
ing eighteen  males  and  thirty-five  females,  withdrew ;  and 
two  years  later  they  organized  the  society  now  called 
the  Church  of  the  Pilgrimage.  The  settlement  of  Mr. 
Kendall,  a  pronounced  Arminian,  *  was  an  instance  of  the 
almost  complete  abandonment  of  Calvinism  on  the  part  of 
a  congregation,  in  opposition  to  the  preaching  from  the 
pulpit.  In  spite  of  the  strict  confession  of  faith  which 
Dr.  Robbins  had  persuaded  the  church  to  adopt,  the 
parish  outgrew  the  old  teachings.  Mr.  Kendall,  with  the 
approval  of  his  church,  soon  grew  into  a  Unitarian ;  and 
it  was  fitting  that  the  church  of  the  Mayflower,  the 
church  of  Robinson  and  Brewster,  should  lead  the  way 
in  this  advance. 

As  yet  there  was  no  controversy,  except  in  a  quiet 
way.      Occasionally  sharp  criticism  was  uttered,  espe- 

*Rev.  Thomas  Robbins,  Diary  for  October  13,  1799,  I.  97,  heard  Mr. 
Kendall,  and  said :  "  He  appears  to  be  an  Arminian  in  full.  I  fear  he  will 
lead  many  souls  astray."  See  John  Cuckson,  A  Brief  History  of  the 
First  Church  in  Plymouth,  eig-htli  chapter. 


SILENT   ADVANCE   OF   LIBERALISM  85 

cially  in  convention  and  election  sermons ;  but  there  was 
no  thought  of  separation  or  exclusion.  The  hberal 
men  showed  a  tendency  to  magnify  the  work  of  charity ; 
and  they  were,  in  a  hmited  degree,  zealous  in  every  kind 
of  philanthropic  effort.  More  distinctly,  however,  they 
showed  their  position  in  their  enthusiasm  for  the  Bible 
and  in  their  summing  up  of  Christianity  in  loyalty  to 
Christ.  Towards  all  creeds  and  dogmas  they  were  in- 
different and  silent,  except  as  they  occasionally  spoke 
plainly  out  to  condemn  them.  They  believed  in  and 
preached  toleration,  and  their  whole  movement  stood 
more  distinctly  for  comprehensiveness  and  latitudina- 
rianism  than  for  aught  else.  They  were  not  greatly 
concerned  about  theological  problems  ;  but  they  thor- 
oughly beheved  in  a  broad,  generous,  sympathetic,  and 
practical  Christianity,  that  would  exemplify  the  teach- 
ings of  Christ,  and  that  would  lead  men  to  a  pure  and 
noble  moral  life. 

That  toleration  was   not   as   yet   fully    accepted   in 

Massachusetts  is  seen  in  the  fact  that 

Growth  of  Toleration.     .  .     _,  p    ^rT^To 

the  proposed   Constitution   oi    1778 

was  defeated  because  it  provided  for  freedom  of  wor- 
ship on  the  part  of  all  Protestant  denominations.  The 
dominant  rehgious  body  was  not  yet  ready  to  put  itself 
on  a  level  with  the  other  sects.  In  the  Constitutional 
Convention  of  1779  the  more  liberal  men  worked  with 
the  Baptists  to  secure  a  separation  of  state  and  church. 
Such  men  as  Drs.  Chauncy,  Mayhew,  West,  and  Shute 
were  desirous  of  the  broadest  toleration ;  and  they  did 
what  they  could  to  secure  it.  As  early  as  1768,  Dr. 
Chauncy  spoke  in  plainest  terms  in  opposition  to  the 
state  support  of  religion.  "We  are  in  principle,"  he 
wrote,  "  against  all  civil  establishments  in  religion.     It 


86  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

does  not  appear  to  us  that  God  has  entrusted  the  state 
with  a  right  to  make  religious  estabhshments.  But  let 
it  be  heedfully  minded  we  claim  no  right  to  desire  the 
interposition  of  the  state  to  establish  the  mode  of  wor- 
ship, government  or  disciphne,  we  apprehend  is  most 
agreeable  to  the  mind  of  Christ.  We  desire  no  other 
liberty  than  to  be  left  unrestrained  in  the  exercise  of 
our  principles,  in  so  far  as  we  are  good  members  of 
society.  .  .  .  The  plain  truth  is,  by  the  gospel  charter, 
all  professed  Christians  are  vested  with  precisely  the 
same  rights  ;  nor  has  our  denomination  any  more  a  right 
to  the  interposition  of  the  civil  magistrate  in  their  favor 
than  any  other;  and  whenever  this  difference  takes 
place,  it  is  beside  the  rule  of  Scripture,  and  the  genuine 
dictates  of  uncorrupted  reason."  *  All  persons  through- 
out the  state,  of  whatever  religious  connection,  who  had 
become  emancipated  from  the  Puritan  spirit,  supported 
him  in  this  opinion.  They  were  in  the  minority  as  yet, 
and  they  were  not  organized.  Therefore,  their  efforts 
were  unsuccessful. 

Another  testing  of  public  sentiment  on  this  subject 
was  had  in  the  Massachusetts  convention  which,  in  1788, 
ratified  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  The  sixth 
article,  which  provides  that  "  no  religious  tests  shall  ever 
be  required  as  a  qualification  to  any  office,"  was  the 
occasion  of  a  prolonged  debate  and  much  opposition. 
Hon.  Theophilus  Parsons  took  the  liberal  side,  and 
declared  that  "the  only  evidence  we  can  have  of  the 
sincerity  and  excellency  of  a  man's  religion  is  a  good 
life,"  precisely  the  position  of  the  hberal  men.  By 
several  members  it  was  urged,  however,  that  this  article 
was  a  departure  from  the  principles  of  our  forefathers, 

*  Chauncy  against  Chandler,  152. 


SILENT   ADVANCE   OF   LIBERALISM  87 

who  came  here  for  the  preservation  of  their  religion, 
and  that  it  would  admit  deists  and  atheists  into  the 
general  government. 

In  these  efforts  to  secure  religious  toleration  as  a 
fundamental  law  of  the  state  and  nation  the  Baptist 
denomination  took  an  active  and  a  leading  part.  Not 
less  faithful  to  this  cause  were  the  liberal  men  among 
the  Congregationalists,  while  the  opposition  came  almost 
wholly  from  the  Calvinistie  and  orthodox  churches. 
Such  leaders  on  the  liberal  side  as  Dr.  David  Shute  of 
the  South  Parish  in  Hingham,  Rev.  Thomas  Thatcher 
of  the  West  Parish  in  Dedham,  and  Dr.  Samuel  West 
of  New  Bedford,  were  loyally  devoted  in  the  conven- 
tion to  the  support  of  the  toleration  act  of  the  Consti- 
tution. In  the  membership  of  the  convention  there 
were  seventeen  ministers,  and  fourteen  of  them  voted 
for  the  Constitution.  The  opinions  of  the  fourteen 
were  expressed  by  Rev.  Phillips  Payson,  the  minister 
of  Chelsea,  who  held  that  a  religious  test  would  be  a 
great  blemish  on  the  Constitution.  He  also  said  that 
God  is  the  God  of  the  conscience,  and  for  human  tri- 
bunals to  encroach  upon  the  consciences  of  men  is 
impious.*  As  the  Constitution  was  ratified  by  only  a 
small  majority  of  the  convention,  and  as  at  the  opening 
of  its  sessions  the  opposition  seemed  almost  overwhelm- 
ing, the  position  taken  by  the  more  liberal  ministers 
was  a  sure  indication  of  growing  liberahty.  The  great 
majority  of  the  people,  however,  were  still  strongly  in 
favor  of  the  old  religious  tests  and  restrictions,  as  was 
fully  indicated  by  subsequent  events. 

*  These  particulars  are  taken  from  the  Debates  and  Proceedings  in  the 
Convention  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts  held  in  the  year  1788, 
and  which  finally  rati£ed  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  Boston, 
1856. 


88  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

The  Revolution  operated  as  a  liberalizing  influence, 
because  of  the  breaking  of  old  customs  and  the  discus- 
sion of  the  principles  of  liberty  attendant  upon  the 
adoption  of  the  state  and  national  constitutions.  The 
growth  of  democratic  sentiment  made  a  strong  opposi- 
tion to  the  churches  and  their  privileges,  and  it  caused 
a  diminution  of  reverence  for  the  authority  of  the 
clergy.  The  twenty  years  following  the  Revolution 
showed  a  notable  growth  in  liberal  opinions. 

Universalism  presented  itself  as  a  new  form  of  Cal- 
vinism, its  advocates  claiming  that  God  decreed  that  all 
should  be  saved,  and  that  his  will  would  be  triumphant. 
In  many  parts  of  the  country  the  doctrine  of  universal 
salvation  began  to  be  heard  during  the  last  two  decades 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  the  growth  of  interest 
in  it  was  rapid  from  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth. 
This  movement  began  in  the  Baptist  churches,  but  it 
soon  appeared  in  others.  At  first  it  was  undefined,  a 
protest  against  the  harsh  teaching  of  future  punish- 
ment. It  was  a  part  of  the  humanitarian  awakening 
of  the  time,  the  new  faith  in  man,  the  recognition  that 
love  is  diviner  than  wrath.  Many  persons  found  es- 
cape from  creeds  that  were  hateful  to  them  into  this 
new  and  more  hopeful  interpretation  of  religion.  Per- 
sons of  every  shade  of  protest,  and  "infidehty,"  and 
free  thinking,  found  their  way  into  this  new  body ;  and 
great  was  the  coAdemnation  and  hatred  with  which  it 
was  received  on  the  part  of  the  other  sects.  In  time 
this  movement  clarified  itself,  and  it  has  had  a  positive 
influence  for  piety  and  for  nobler  views  of  God  and  the 
future. 

Of  much  the  same  nature  was  the  movement  within 
the  fellowship  of  the  Friends  led  by  Thomas  Hicks. 


SILENT   ADVANCE   OF    LIBERALISM  89 

It  was  Unitarian  and  reformatory,  influenced  by  the 
growing  democracy  and  zeal  for  humanity  the  age  was 
everywhere  manifesting. 

In  the  border  states  between  north  and  south  began, 
during  the  last  decade  of  the  eighteenth  century,  a 
movement  in  favor  of  discarding  all  creeds  and  confes- 
sions. It  favored  a  return  to  the  Bible  itself  as  the 
great  Protestant  book,  and  as  the  one  revealed  word  of 
God.  Without  learning  or  culture,  these  persons 
sought  to  make  their  faith  in  Christ  more  real  by  an 
evangehcal  obedience  to  his  teachings.  Some  of  them 
called  themselves  Disciples,  holding  that  to  follow 
Christ  is  quite  enough.  Others  said  that  no  other 
name  than  Christian  is  required.  They  were  Bibhcal  in 
their  theology,  and  unsectarian  in  their  attitude  towards 
the  forms  and  rituals  of  the  church.  In  time  these 
scattered  groups  of  earnest  seekers  for  a  better  Chris- 
tian way,  from  Maine  to  Georgia,  came  to  know  each 
other  and  to  organize  for  the  common  good. 

With  the  rapid  growth  of  Methodism  the  Arminian 
view  of  man  was  widely  adopted.  The  Baptists  re- 
ceived into  their  fellowship  in  all  parts  of  New  England, 
at  least,  many  who  were  not  deeply  in  sympathy  with 
their  strict  rules,  but  who  found  ^vith  them  a  means  of 
protesting  against  the  harsher  methods  of  the  "  standing 
order  "  of  Congregationahsts.  Their  demand  for  toler- 
ation and  liberty  of  conscience  began  to  receive  recogni- 
tion after  the  Revolution,  and  their  influence  was  a 
powerful  one  in  bringing  about  the  separation  of  state 
and  church.  Those  who  were  dissatisfied  with  a  church 
that  taxed  all  the  people,  and  that  was  upheld  by  state 
authority,  found  with  the  Baptists  a  means  of  making 
their  protest  heard  and  felt. 


90  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

In  all  directions  the  democratic  spirit  was  being 
manifested,  and  conditions  which  had  been  upheld  by 
the  restrictive  authority  of  England  had  to  give  way. 
The  people  were  now  speaking,  and  not  the  ministers 
only.  It  was  an  age  of  individualism,  and  of  the  reas- 
sertion  of  the  tendency  that  had  characterized  New 
England  from  the  first,  but  that  had  been  held  in  check 
by  autocratic  power.  There  was  no  outbreak,  no  rapid 
change,  no  iconoclastic  overturning  of  old  institutions 
and  customs ;  but  the  people  were  coming  to  their  own, 
thinking  for  themselves.  In  reality,  the  people  were 
conservative,  especially  in  New  England;  and  they 
moved  slowly.  There  was  little  infidelity,  and  steadily 
were  the  old  ideals  maintained.  Yet  the  individuahsm 
would  assert  itself.  Men  held  the  old  creeds  in  dis- 
tinctly personal  ways,  and  the  churches  grew  into  more 
and  more  of  independency. 

The  theological  development  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury took  two  directions :  that  of  rationalism  and  a  de- 
mand for  free  inquiry,  as  represented  by  Jonathan 
Mayhew  and  William  Bentley;  and  that  of  a  philan- 
thropic protest  against  the  harsh  features  of  Calvinism, 
as  represented  by  Charles  Chauncy  and  the  Universal- 
ists.  The  demand  that  all  theological  problems  should 
be  submitted  to  reason  for  vindication  or  readjustment 
was  not  widely  urged;  but  a  few  men  recognized  the 
worth  of  this  claim,  and  applied  this  method  without 
hesitation.  A  larger  number  followed  them  with  hesi- 
tating steps,  but  with  a  growing  confidence  in  reason  as 
God's  method  for  man's  finding  and  maintaining  the 
truth.  The  other  tendency  grew  out  of  a  benevolent 
desire  to  justify  the  ways  of  God  to  man,  and  was  the 
expression  of  a  deepening  faith  that  the  Divine  Being 


SILENT   ADVANCE   OF   LIBERALISM  91 

deals  with  his  children  in  a  fatherly  manner.  That  God 
is  generous  and  loving  was  the  faith  of  Dr.  Chauncy,  as 
it  was  of  the  Universalists  and  of  the  more  liberal 
party  among  the  Calvinists.  Their  philanthropic  feel- 
ings toward  their  fellow-men  seemed  to  them  represen- 
tative of  God's  ways  of  dealing  with  his  creatures. 


V. 

THE   PEEIOD   OF   CONTROVERSY. 

In  the  spring  of  1805  Rev.  Henry  Ware,  who  had 
been  for  nearly  twenty  years  pastor  of  the  first  church 
in  the  town  of  Hingham,  was  inaugurated  as  the  HoUis 
Professor  of  Divinity  at  Harvard  College.  The  place 
had  been  made  vacant  by  the  death  of  Professor  David 
Tappan,  who  was  a  moderate  Calvinist ;  that  is,  one  who 
recognized  the  sovereignty  of  God,  but  allowed  to  man 
a  limited  opportunity  for  personal  effort  in  the  process 
of  salvation.  It  was  assumed  by  the  conservative  party 
that  a  Calvinist  would  be  appointed,  because  the  founder 
of  this  important  professorship,  it  was  claimed,  was  of 
that  way  of  tliinking,  and  so  conditioned  his  gift  as  to 
require  that  no  one  but  a  Calvinist  should  hold  the  posi- 
tion. This  was  strenuously  denied  by  the  liberals,  who 
maintained  that  Hollis  was  not  only  liberal  and  catholic 
i^  his  own  theology,  but  that  he  made  no  such  restric- 
tions as  were  claimed.*  When  the  nomination  of  Mr. 
Ware  was  presented  to  the  overseers,  it  was  strongly 
opposed ;  but  he  was  elected  by  a  considerable  majority. 
A  pamphlet  soon  appeared  in  opposition  to  him,  and 
this  was  the  beginning  of  a  controversy  that  lasted  for 
a  quarter  of  a  century,  f 

This  war  of  pamphlets  was  made  more  furious  by 
Rev.  John  Sherman's  One  God  in  One  Person  Only, 

*  Josiah  Quincy,  History  of  Harvard  University,  I.  230,  Chapter  XII.; 
Christian  Examiner,  VII.  64 ;  XXX.  70. 

t  Jedidiah  Morse,  True  Reasons  on  which  the  Election  of  a  Hollis  Pro- 
fessor of  Divinity  in  Harvard  College  were  opposed  at  the  Board  of  Over- 
seers. 


PERIOD   OF   CONTROVERSY  93 

and  Rev.  Hosea  Ballou's  Treatise  on  the  Atonement, 
both  of  which  appeared  in  1805.  Mr.  Sherman's  book 
was  described  in  The  Monthly  Anthology  as  "  one  of  the 
fii'st  acts  of  direct  hostility  against  the  orthodox  com- 
mitted on  these  western  shores."  *  The  httle  book  by 
Hosea  Ballon  had  small  influence  on  the  current  of  re- 
ligious thinking  outside  the  UniversaHst  body,  to  which 
he  belonged,  and  probably  did  not  at  all  enter  into 
the  controversy  between  the  orthodox  and  the  liberal 
Congregationalists.  It  was,  however,  the  first  positive 
statement  of  the  doctrine  of  the  atonement  in  a  rational 
form,  not  as  expiatory,  but  as  reconciling  man  to  the 
loving  authority  of  God.  Within  a  decade  it  brought 
the  leading  Universalists  to  the  Unitarian  position,  f 
These  works  were  followed,  in  1810,  by  Rev.  Noah 
Worcester's  Bible  News  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Ghost,  which  presented  clearly  and  forcibly  an  Arian 
view  of  the  Trinity,  or  the  subordination  of  Christ  to 
God.  These  definitions  of  their  position  on  the  part  of 
the  liberals  were  met  by  the  publication  of  The  Pano- 
plist,  which  was  begun  by  Dr.  Jedidiah  INIorse,  of 
Charlestown,  Mass.,  in  1805.  This  magazine  inter- 
preted the  orthodox  positions,  and  devoted  itself  zeal- 
ously to  the  defence  of  the  old  ideas,  as  understood  by 
its  editors.  It  was  not  vehemently  aggressive,  but  was 
largely  devoted  to  general  religious  interests,  and  to  the 
promotion  of  a  higher  spirit  of  devotion.  It  was  fol- 
lowed by  The  Spirit  of  the  Pilgrims,  which  was  more 
combative,  and  in  some  degree  intolerant.  In  the  year 
1808  the  Andover  Theological  School  was  founded,  the 
result   of    a    reconciliation    between    the  Hopkinsians 

•  III.  251,  March,  1806. 

t  Richard  Eddy,  Universalism  in  America,  II.  87 ;  Oscar  F.  Safford, 
Hosea  Ballou  :  A  Maryellous  Life  Story,  71. 


94  tJNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

^and  the  Calvinists  of  the  old  t3^e,  affording  an  oppor- 
tunity for  theological  training  on  the  part  of  those  who 
could  not  accept  the  liberal  attitude  of  Harvard. 

Most  of  the  liberal  men  of  this  time  refused  to  bring 
their  beliefs  to  the  test  of  exact  definition.  It  was  their 
opinion  that  no  theological  statement  can  have  high 
value  in  relation  to  Christian  attainments.  Under  these 
conditions  were  trained  the  men  who  became  the  leaders 
in  the  early  Unitarian  movement.  William  Ellery 
Channing,  who  was  settled  over  the  Federal  Street 
Church  in  June,  1803,  was  distinctly  evangelical,  and  of 
a  profound  and  earnest  piety.  Slowly  he  grew  to  ac- 
cept the  hberal  attitude,  as  the  result  of  his  love  of 
freedom,  his  lofty  spirituality  of  nature,  and  his  tolerant 
and  generous  cast  of  mind.  He  gave  spiritual  and  in- 
tellectual direction  to  the  new  movement,  guided  its 
philanthropic  efforts,  and  brought  to  noble  issue  its 
spiritual  philosophy.  Early  in  the  year  1804,  Joseph 
Stevens  Buckminster  was  settled  over  the  Brattle  Street 
Church ;  and,  though  he  preached  but  a  little  over  six 
years  before  a  blighting  disease  took  him  away,  yet  he 
left  behind  a  tradition  of  great  pulpit  gifts  and  a  won- 
derfully attractive  personality.  Another  to  die  in  early 
manhood  was  Samuel  Cooper  Thacher,  who  was  settled 
at  the  New  South  in  1811,  and  who  was  long  remem- 
bered for  his  scholarship  and  his  zeal  in  the  work  which 
he  had  undertaken.  Charles  Lowell  went  to  the  West 
Church  in  1806,  and  he  nobly  sustained  the  traditions 
for  liberality  and  spiritual  freedom  that  had  gathered 
about  that  place  of  worship.  In  1814  appeared  Edward 
Everett,  at  the  age  of  twenty  (which  had  been  that  of 
Buckminster  when  he  entered  the  pulpit),  as  the  min- 
ister of  the  Brattle  Street  Church,  to  charm  with  his 


PERIOD   OF   CONTROVERSY  95 

eloquence,  learning,  grace,  and  power.  Francis  Park- 
man  began  his  career  at  the  New  North  in  1812, — 
"  a  man  of  various  information,  a  kind  spirit,  singular 
benevolence,  polished  yet  simple  manners,  fine  hterary 
taste."  *  A  few  years  later  John  Gorham  Palfrey  be- 
came the  minister  of  the  Brattle  Street  Church,  and 
James  Walker  was  settled  over  the  Harvard  Church  in 
Charlestown.  Among  the  laymen  in  the  churches  to 
which  these  men  preached  were  many  persons  of  dis- 
tinction. The  hberal  fellowship,  therefore,  was  of  the 
highest  social  and  intellectual  standing.  The  piety  of 
the  churches  was  serious,  if  not  profound;  and  the 
religion  presented  was  simple,  sincere,  intellectual,  and 
earnestly  spiritual. 

The  practical  and  tolerant  aims  of  the  liberals  were 

shown  by  the  manner  in  which 
The  Monthly  Anthology.     ,        ,  .  .  , 

they  began  to  give  expression  pub- 
licly to  their  position.  In  The  Monthly  Anthology  they 
first  found  voice,  although  that  publication  was  started 
without  the  slightest  controversial  purpose.  Begun  by 
a  young  man  as  a  monthly  hterary  journal  in  1803, 
when  he  found  it  would  not  support  him,  he  abandoned 
it ;  f  and  the  pubhshers  asked  Rev,  Wilham  Emerson, 

*0.  B.  Frothingham,  Boston  Unitarianism,  161. 

t  Josiah  Quincy,  History  of  the  Boston  Athenseum,  I.  "  In  the  year 
1803  Phineas  Adams,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College,  of  the  class  of  1801, 
commenced  in  Boston,  under  the  name  of  Sylvanus  Perse,  a  periodical  work 
entitled  The  Monthly  Anthology  or  Magazine  of  Polite  Literature.  He 
conducted  it  for  six  montlis,  but  not  finding  its  proceeds  sufficient  for  his 
support,  he  abandoned  the  undertaking.  Mr.  Adams,  the  son  of  a  fanner 
in  Lexington,  manifested  in  early  boyhood  a  passion  for  elegant  learning. 
He  adopted  literature  as  a  profession  ;  but,  after  the  failure  of  his  attempt 
as  editor  of  The  Anthology,  he  taught  school  in  different  places,  till,  in 
1811,  he  entered  the  Navy  as  chaplain  and  teacher  of  mathematics.  Here 
he  became  distinguished  for  mathematical  science  in  its  relation  to  nautical 
affairs.  In  1812  he  accompanied  Commodore  Porter  in  his  eventful  cruise 
in  the  Pacific,  of  which  the  published  journal  bears  honorable  testimony  to 
Mr.  Adams's  zeal  for  promoting  geographical  and  mathematical  knowledge. 


96  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

the  minister  of  the  First  Church  in  Boston,  to  take  charge 
of  it.  He  consented  to  do  so,  and  gathered  about  him, 
a  company  of  friends  to  aid  him  in  its  management. 
Their  meetings  finally  grew  into  The  Anthology  Club, 
which  continued  the  publication  through  ten  volumes. 
Among  the  members  were  William  Emerson,  Samuel 
Cooper  Thacher,  Joseph  S.  Buckminster,  and  Joseph 
Tuckerman,  pastors  of  churches  in  Boston  and  vicinity 
of  the  liberal  school.  There  was  also  John  S.  J.  Gardi- 
ner, the  rector  of  Trinity  Church,  who  was  the  presi- 
dent of  the  club  throughout  the  whole  period  of  its 
existence,  and  one  of  the  most  frequent  contributorB  to 
the  periodical.  The  members  were  not  drawn  together 
by  any  sectarian  spirit,  but  by  a  common  aim  of  doing 
something  for  literature,  and  for  the  advancement  of 
culture.  The  Monthly  Anthology  was  the  first  dis- 
tinctly literary  journal  published  in  this  country.  It 
had  an  important  influence  in  developing  the  intellectual 
tastes  of  New  England,  and  of  giving  initiative  to  its 
literary  capacities.  The  spirit  of  The  Monthly  Anthol- 
ogy was  broad  and  catholic.  Naturally,  therefore,  in  its 
pages  the  liberals  made  their  first  protest  against  party 
aims  and  methods.  In  a  few  instances  theological  prob- 
lems were  discussed,  the  extreme  Trinitarian  doctrines 
were  criticised,  and  the  liberal  attitude  was  defended. 
In  the  year  1806  Ikev.  William  Emerson  began  the 
publication  of  The  Christian  Mon- 
Society  for  Promoting  -^^j,^  ^^  j^^g  capacity  as  the  secretary 
Christian  Knowledge,      <.    ,i       o      •  j.      x  i.-         ^i,   • 

Piety,  and  Charity.       ^f  the  Society  for  promoting  Chris- 
tian Knowledge,  Piety,  and  Charity, 
a  society  then  newly  founded  by  residents  of  Boston 

He  again  joined  Porter  in  the  expedition  for  the  suppression  of  piracy  in  the 
West  Indies,  and  he  died  on  that  station  in  1823,  much  respected  in  th» 
service." 


PERIOD   OF   CONTROVERSY  97 

and  its  vicinity  for  the  purpose  of  publishing  enlight- 
ened and  practical  tracts  and  books.  This  series  of 
small  books,  each  containing  one  hundred  and  fifty  or 
two  hundred  pages,  and  issued  quarterly,  was  begun 
for  the  purpose  of  publishing  devotional  works  of  a 
practical  and  liberal  type.  The  first  number  contained 
prayers  and  devotional  exercises  for  personal  or  family 
use,  and  there  followed  Bishop  Newcombe's  Life  and 
Character  of  Christ,  a  condensed  reproduction  of  Law's 
Serious  Call,  Bishop  Hall's  Contemplations,  Erskine's 
Letters  to  the  Bereaved,  and  two  or  three  volumes  of 
sermons  on  religious  duties  and  the  education  of 
children. 

Besides  The  Christian  Monitor  tliis  society  issued 
a  series  of  Religious  Tracts  which  had  a  considerable 
circulation.  Then  it  undertook  the  publication  of 
books  for  children,  and  for  family  reading.  In  aiming 
to  publish  works  of  pure  morality  and  practical  piety, 
its  methods  were  thoroughly  catholic  and  liberal;  for 
it  was  unsectarian,  and  yet  earnestly  Christian.  The 
spirit  and  methods  of  this  society  were  thoroughly 
characteristic  of  the  time  when  it  was  organized,  and 
of  the  men  who  gave  it  life  and  purpose.  Not  dogma, 
but  piety,  was  what  they  desired.  In  the  truest  sense 
they  were  unsectarian  Christians,  zealous  for  good 
works  and  a  devout  life.* 

The  Monthly  Anthology  and  The  Christian  Monitor 

represented  the  mild  and  undogmatic 

attitude  of  the  liberals,  their  shrinking 

from  all  controversy,  and  their  desire  to  devote  their 

labors   wholly   to  the    promotion    of    a    tolerant    and 

♦In  October,  1888,  this  society  gave  up  its  organization,  and  the  sum 
of  $1,265.10  was  given  to  the  American  Unitarian  Association  for  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  publishing  fund. 


98  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

catholic  Christianity.  The  beginning  of  the  contro- 
versial spirit  on  the  liberal  side  found  expression  in 
*^he  General  Repository  and  Review,  which  was  begun 
in  Cambridge  by  Rev.  Andrews  Norton,  in  April,  1812. 
In  the  first  number  of  this  quarterly  review  the  editor 
said  that  the  discussion  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity 
"  in  our  own  country  has  hitherto  been  chiefly  confined 
to  private  circles,"  and  cited  the  books  of  John  Sher- 
man and  Noah  Worcester  as  the  only  exceptions.  The 
review  opened,  however,  with  a  defence  of  liberal 
Christianity  which  was  aggressive  and  outspoken.  In 
later  issues  an  energetic  statement  was  made  of  the 
liberal  position,  the  controversial  articles  were  able 
and  exphcit,  and  in  a  manner  liitherto  quite  unknown 
on  the  part  of  what  the  editor  called  "  catholic  Chris- 
tians." One  of  the  numbers  contained  a  long  and 
interesting  survey  of  the  religious  interests  of  the 
country,  and  summed  up  in  an  admirable  manner  the 
prospects  for  the  liberal  churches.  After  the  publi- 
cation of  the  sixth  number,  Mr.  Norton  withdrew 
from  the  work  to  become  the  hbrarian  of  Harvard  Col- 
lege; and  it  was  continued  through  two  more  issues 
by  "a  society  of  gentlemen."  To  this  journal  Mr. 
Norton  was  by  far  the  largest  contributor;  but  other 
writers  were  Edward  Everett,  and  his  brother,  Alex- 
ander H.  Everett,  Joseph  S.  Buckminster,  John  T. 
Kirkland,  Sidney  Willard,  George  Ticknor,  Wash- 
ington AUston,  John  Lowell,  Noah  Worcester,  and 
James  Freeman,  most  of  them  connected  with  Har- 
vard College  or  with  the  liberal  churches  in  Bos- 
ton. It  is  evident,  however,  that  the  liberal  public 
was  not  yet  ready  for  so  aggressive  and  out-spoken 
a  journal. 


PERIOD   OF   CONTROVERSY  99? 

What  was  desired  was  something  milder,  less  aggres- 
sive, of  a  distinctly  religious  and  conciliatory 
_^.    .  character.     To    this    end    Drs.    Channing, 

Charles  Lowell,  and  Tuckerman,  and  Rev. 
S.  C.  Thatcher,  with  whom  was  afterwards  associated 
Rev.  Francis  Parkman,  planned  a  monthly  magazine  that 
should  be  liberal  in  its  character,  but  not  sectarian  or 
dogmatic.  They  invited  Rev.  Noah  Worcester,  whose 
Bible  News  had  cost  him  his  pulpit,  to  remove  from 
New  Hampshire  to  Boston  to  become  its  editor.  Al- 
though Mr.  Worcester's  beliefs  affihated  him  with  the 
Hopkinsians  in  everything  except  his  attitude  in  regard 
to  the  inferiority  of  Christ  to  God,  yet  he  was  compelled 
to  withdraw  from  his  old  connections,  and  to  find  new 
fields  of  activity.  He  began  The  Christian  Disciple  as 
a  rehgious  and  family  magazine,  the  first  number  being 
issued  in  JNIay,  1813.  It  was  not  designed  for  theologi- 
cal discussion  or  distinctly  for  the  defence  of  the  Hberal 
position.  Its  tone  was  conciliatory  and  moderate,  while 
it  zealously  defended  rehgious  liberty  and  charity.  Its 
aim  was  practical  and  humanitarian,  to  help  men  hve 
the  Christian  hfe,  as  individuals,  and  in  their  social  re- 
lations. When  it  touched  upon  controverted  questions, 
it  was  in  an  expository  manner,  with  the  purpose  of  in- 
structing its  readers,  and  of  leading  them  to  a  higher 
appreciation  of  true  religion.  As  his  biographer  well 
said  of  Noah  Worcester,  he  made  this  work  "distin- 
guished for  its  unqualified  devotedness  to  the  individual 
rights  of  opinion,  and  the  sacred  duty  of  a  liberal  regard 
to  them  in  other  men."  * 

Dr.  Worcester  was  not  so  much  a  theologian  as  a 
philanthropist ;  and,  if  he  was  drawn  into  controversy,  it 

•  Unitarian  Biog^raphy,  I.  40,  Memoir  by  Henry  Ware,  Jr. 


100  UNITAllIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

was  accidentally,  and  much  to  his  surprise  and  disap- 
pointment. It  was  not  for  the  sake  of  defending  his  own 
positions  that  he  replied  to  his  critics,  but  in  the  name 
of  truth,  and  from  an  exacting  sense  of  duty.  His 
gentle,  loving,  and  sympathetic  nature  unfitted  him  for 
intellectual  contentions ;  and  he  much  preferred  to  de- 
vote himself  to  philanthropies  and  reforms.  In  the 
briefest  way  The  Christian  Disciple  reported  the  doings 
of  the  liberal  churches  and  men,  but  it  gave  much  space 
to  all  kinds  of  organizations  of  a  humanitarian  character. 
It  advocated  the  temperance  reform  with  earnestness, 
and  this  at  a  time  when  there  were  few  other  voices 
speaking  in  its  behalf.  It  devoted  many  pages  to  the 
condemnation  of  slavery,  and  to  the  approval  of  all 
efforts  to  secure  its  mitigation  or  its  abohtion.  It  gave 
large  attention  to  the  evils  of  war,  a  subject  which  more 
and  more  absorbed  the  interest  of  the  editor.  It  con- 
demned duelling  in  the  most  emphatic  terms,  as  it  did 
all  forms  of  aggressiveness  and  inhumanity.  In  spirit 
Dr.  Worcester  was  as  much  a  non-resistant  as  Tolstoi, 
and  for  much  the  same  reasons.  More  extended  reports 
of  Bible  societies  were  given  than  of  any  other  kind  of 
organization,  and  these  societies  especially  enlisted  the 
interest  of  Dr.  Worcester  and  his  associates. 

With  the  end  of  1818  Dr.  Worcester  withdrew  from 
the  editorship  of  The  Christian  Disciple,  to  devote  him- 
seK  to  the  cause  of  peace,  the  interests  of  Christian 
amity  and  goodwill,  and  the  exposition  of  his  own  theo- 
logical convictions.  The  management  of  the  magazine 
came  into  the  hands  of  its  original  proprietors,  who  con- 
tinued its  pubUcation. 

Under  the  new  management  the  circulation  of  the 
magazine  increased.     At  first  the  younger  Henry  Ware 


PERIOD    OF    CONTROVERSY  101 

became  the  editor,  and  he  carried  the  work  through 
the  six  volumes  pubUshed  before  it  took  a  new  name. 
It  became  more  distinctly  theological  in  its  purpose, 
and  it  undertook  the  task  of  presenting  and  defending 
the  views  of  the  liberals.  In  1824  The  Christian 
Disciple  passed  into  the  hands  of  Rev.  John  Gorham 
Palfrey,  and  he  changed  its  name  to  The  Christian 
Examiner  without  changing  its  general  character.  At 
the  end  of  two  years  Mr.  Francis  Jenks  became  the 
editor,  but  in  1831  it  came  under  the  control  of  Rev. 
James  Walker  and  Rev.  Francis  W.  P.  Greenwood. 
Gradually  it  became  the  organ  of  the  higher  intellectual 
life  of  the  Unitarians,  and  gave  expression  to  their 
interest  in  literature,  general  culture,  and  the  philan- 
thropies, as  well  as  theological  knowledge.  The  sub- 
title of  Theological  Review,  which  it  bore  during  the 
first  five  volumes,  indicated  its  preference  for  subjects 
of  speculative  religious  interest;  but  during  the  half- 
century  of  its  best  influence  it  was  the  General  Review 
or  the  Rehgious  Miscellany,  showing  that  it  was  theo- 
logical only  in  the  broadest  spirit. 

Reluctant  as  the  liberal  men  were  to  take  a  de- 
nominational position,  and  to  commit 
Dr.  Morse  and  themselves  to  the  interests  of  a  party  in 
Unitarianism.  rehgion,  or  even  to  withdraw  themselves 
in  any  way  from  the  churches  with  which 
they  had  been  connected,  they  were  compelled  to  do  so 
by  the  force  of  conditions  they  could  not  control.  One 
of  the  first  distinct  hues  of  separation  was  caused  by 
the  refusal  of  the  more  conservative  men  to  exchange 
pulpits  with  their  liberal  neighbors.  This  tendency 
first  began  to  show  itself  about  the  year  1810 ;  and  it 
received  a  decided  impetus  from  the  attitude  taken  by 


102  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

Rev.  John  Codman,  who  in  1808  became  the  minister 
of  the  Second  Church  in  Dorchester.  He  refused  to 
exchange  with  several  of  the  hberal  ministers  of  the 
Boston  Association,  although  he  was  an  intimate  friend 
of  Dr.  Channing,  who  had  directed  his  theological  train- 
ing, and  also  preached  his  ordination  sermon.  The 
more  hberal  members  of  his  parish  attempted  to  compel 
him  to  exchange  with  the  Boston  ministers  without 
regard  to  theological  beliefs ;  and  a  long  contention 
followed,  with  the  result  that  the  more  hberal  part  of 
his  congregation  withdrew  in  1813,  and  formed  the 
Third  Rehgious  Society  in  Dorchester.*  The  with- 
drawal of  ministerial  courtesies  of  this  kind  gradually- 
increased,  especially  after  the  controversies  that  began 
in  1815,  though  it  was  not  until  many  years  later  that 
exchanges  between  the  two  parties  ceased. 

In  1815  Dr.  Jedidiah  Morse,  the  editor  of  The 
Panophst,  and  the  author  of  various  school  books  in 
geography  and  history,  pubhshed  in  a  Uttle  book  of 
about  one  hundred  pages,  which  bore  the  title  of 
American  Unitarianism,  a  chapter  from  Thomas  Bel- 
sham's  f  biography  of  Theophilus  Lindsey,  in  which  Dr. 
Lindsey's  American  correspondents,  including  prominent 
ministers  in  Boston  and  other  parts  of  New  England, 
had  declared  their  Unitarianism.  Morse  also  pubhshed 
an  article  in  The  Panoplist,  setting  forth  that  these 
ministers  had  not  the  courage  of  their  convictions,  that, 
while   they   were  Unitarians,  they  had  withheld   their 

*  William  Allen,  Memoir  of  John  Codman,  81. 

t  Thomas  Belsham,  1750-1829,  was  a  dissenting  English  preacher  and 
teacher.  In  1789  he  became  a  Unitarian,  and  was  settled  in  Birmingham. 
From  1805  to  his  death  he  preached  to  the  Essex  Street  congregation  in 
London.  He  wrote  a  popular  work  on  the  Evidences  of  Christianity, 
and  he  translated  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul.  He  was  a  vigorous  and  able 
writer. 


PERIOD    OF    CONTROVERSY  103 

opinions  from  open  utterance.  His  object  was  to  force 
them  to  declare  themselves,  and  either  to  retract  their 
heresies  or  else  to  state  them  and  to  withdraw  from  the 
churches  with  which  they  had  been  connected.  In 
a  letter  addressed  to  Rev.  Samuel  C.  Thacher,  Dr. 
Channing  gave  to  the  public  a  reply  to  these  charges 
of  insincerity  and  want  of  open-mindedness.  He  said 
that,  while  many  of  the  ministers  and  members  of  their 
congregations  were  Unitarians,  they  did  not  accept  Dr. 
Belsham's  type  of  Unitarianism,  which  made  Christ 
a  man.  He  declared  that  no  open  declaration  of 
Unitarianism  had  been  made,  because  they  were  not  in 
love  with  the  sectarian  spirit,  and  because  they  were 
quite  unwilling  to  indulge  in  any  form  of  proselyting. 
"Accustomed  as  we  are,"  he  wrote,  "to  see  genuine 
piety  in  all  classes  of  Christians,  in  Trinitarians  and 
Unitarians,  in  Calvmists  and  Arminians,  in  Episcopa- 
lians, ^Methodists,  Baptists,  and  Congregationalists,  and 
delighting  in  this  character  wherever  it  appears,  we  are 
little  anxious  to  bring  men  over  to  our  peculiar 
opinions."  * 

The  publication  of  Dr.  Morse's  book,  however,  gave 
new  emphasis  to  the  spirit  of  separation  which  was  soon 
to  compel  the  formation  of  a  new  denomination.  It 
was  followed  four  years  later  by  Dr.  Chamiing's  Balti- 
more sermon  and  by  other  positive  declarations  of  theo- 
logical opinion.!  From  that  time  the  controversy  raged 
fiercely,  and  any  possibility  of  reconciliation  was  re- 
moved.    Before  this  time  those  who  were  not  orthodox 


*  Memoir  of  W.  E.  Channing,  by  W.  H.  Channing,  I.  380. 

t  Among  the  controversial  works  printed  in  Boston  at  this  time  was 
Yates's  Vindication  of  Unitarianism,  an  English  book,  which  was  repub- 
lished in  1816. 


104  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

had  called  themselves  CathoUc  Christians  or  Liberal 
Christians  to  designate  their  attitude  of  toleration  and 
liberality.  The  orthodox  had  called  them  Unitarians; 
and  especially  was  this  attempted  by  Dr.  Morse  in  the 
introduction  to  his  American  Unitarianism,  in  order  to 
fasten  upon  them  the  objectionable  name  given  to 
the  English  liberals.  It  was  assumed  that  the  Ameri- 
can liberals  must  agree  with  the  English  in  their  materi- 
alism and  in  their  conception  of  Christ  as  a  man.  Dr. 
Channing  repudiated  this  assumption,  and  declared  it 
unjust  and  untrue ;  but  he  accepted  the  word  Unitarian 
and  gave  it  a  meaning  of  his  own.  Channing  defined 
the  word  to  mean  only  anti-Trinitarianism ;  and  he  ac- 
cepted it  because  it  seemed  to  him  presumptuous  to  use 
the  word  liberal  as  applied  to  a  party,  whereas  it  may 
be  applicable  to  men  of  all  opinions. 

Of  more  interest  than  these  contentions  in  behalf  of 
theological    opinions   is    the    way  in 
Evangelical  ^^^^^  ^j^^  ^-j^^^^^^         ,     brought  itself 

Missionary  Society.  £■      j  o 

to  the  task  of  manifesting  its  own  pur- 
poses. Its  first  organizations  were  tentative  and  inclu- 
sive, without  theological  purpose  or  bias.  No  distinct 
lines  were  drawn,  and  to  them  belonged  orthodox  and 
liberal  alike.  Their  sole  distmguishing  attitude  was  a 
catholicity  of  temper  that  permitted  the  free  activity  of 
the  liberals.  One  of  the  first  organizations  of  this  kind 
was  the  Evangelical  Missionary  Society,  wliich  was  formed 
by  several  of  the  ministers  resident  in  Worcester  and  Mid- 
dlesex Counties.  The  first  meeting  was  held  in  Lancas- 
ter, November  4,  1807,  when  a  constitution  was  adopted 
and  the  society  elected  officers.  "  The  great  object  of 
this  society,"  said  the  constitution,  "is  to  furnish  the 
means  of  Christian  knowledge  and  moral  improvement  to 


PERIOD    OF    CONTROVERSY  105 

those  inhabitants  of  our  own  country  who  are  destitute 
or  poorly  provided."  The  growth  of  the  countr}^,  even 
in  New  England  (for  the  operations  of  the  society  were 
confined  to  that  region),  developed  many  communities 
in  wliich  the  population  was  scattered,  and  without 
adequate  means  of  education  and  religion.  To  aid 
these  communities  in  securing  good  teachers  and  minis- 
ters was  the  purpose  of  the  society.  It  refused  to  send 
forth  itinerants,  but  carefully  selected  such  towns  as 
gave  promise  of  permanent  growth,  and  sent  to  them 
ministers  instructed  to  organize  churches  and  to  pro- 
mote the  building  of  meeting-houses.  In  this  way  it 
was  the  means  of  establishing  a  number  of  churches  in 
Maine,  New  Hampshire,  and  Massachusetts.  It  also 
sent  a  number  of  teachers  into  new  settlements  in 
Maine,  who  were  successful  in  training  many  of  their 
pupils  for  teacliing  in  the  public  schools.  In  several 
instances  minister  and  teacher  were  combined  in  one 
person,  but  the  work  was  none  the  less  effective. 

In  1816  this  society  was  incorporated,  its  membership 
was  broadened  to  include  the  state,  and  active  aid  and 
financial  support  were  given  it  by  the  churches  in 
Boston  and  Salem.  It  was  not  sectarian,  though,  after 
its  incorporation,  its  membership  was  more  largely  re- 
cruited from  liberals.  In  time  it  became  distinctly 
Unitarian  in  its  character,  and  such  it  has  remained  to 
the  present  day.  Very  slowly,  however,  did  it  permit 
itself  to  lose  any  of  its  marks  of  catholicity  and  inclu- 
siveness.  In  the  end  its  membership  was  confined  to 
Unitarians  because  no  one  else  wished  to  share  in  its 
unsectarian  purposes.  At  the  present  time  this  society 
does  a  quiet  and  helpful  work  in  the  way  of  aiding 
churches  that  have  ceased  to  be  self-supporting  because 


106  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

of  the  shifting  conditions  of  population,  and  in  affording 
friendly  assistance  to  ministers  in  times  of  distress  or 
when  old  age  has  come  upon  them. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  liberal  ministers  for  organiza- 
tion was  held  in  the  vestry  of  the  Federal 
The  Berry  Street  ^  „,         ,    ^  .  .  „   ,. 

Conference  otreet  Church  *  on  the  evenmg  oi  May 

30,  1820,  which  immediately  preceded 
election  day,  the  time  when  anniversary  meetings  were 
usually  held.  The  ministers  of  the  state  then  gathered 
in  Boston  to  hear  the  election  sermon,  and  for  such  coun- 
selling of  each  other  as  their  congregational  methods 
made  desirable.  At  this  meeting  Dr.  Channing  gave 
an  address,  stating  the  objects  that  had  brought  those 
present  together,  and  the  desirability  of  tlieir  drawing 
near  each  other  as  liberal  men  for  mutual  aid  and 
support.  "  It  was  thought  by  some  of  us,"  he  said, 
"  that  the  ministers  of  this  commonwealth  who  are 
known  to  agree  in  what  are  called  liberal  and  catholic 
views  of  Christianity  needed  a  bond  of  union,  a  means 
of  intercourse,  and  an  opportunity  of  conference  not  as 
yet  enjoyed.  It  was  thought  that  by  meeting  to  join 
their  prayers  and  counsels,  to  report  the  state  and 
prospects  of  religion  in  different  parts  of  the  common- 
wealth, to  communicate  the  methods  of  advancing  it 
which  have  been  found  most  successful,  to  give  warn- 
ing of  dangers  not  generally  apprehended,  to  seek 
advice  in  difficulties,  and  to  take  a  broad  survey  of  our 
ecclesiastical  affairs  and  of  the  wants  of  our  churches, 
much  light,  strength,  comfort,  animation,  zeal,  would 
be  spread  through  our  body.  The  individuals  who 
originated  this  plan  were  agreed  that,  whilst  the  meet- 

*  The  entrance  to  the  vestry  of  Federal  Street  Church  was  on  Berry 
Street,  hence  the  name  given  the  conference. 


PERIOD   OF   CONTEOVERSY  107 

ing  should  be  confined  to  those  who  harmonize  generally 
in  opinion,  it  should  be  considered  as  having  for  its 
object,  not  simply  the  advancement  of  their  pecuhar 
views,  but  the  general  diffusion  of  practical  religion  and 
of  the  spirit  of  Christianity." 

As  this  address  indicates  in  every  word  of  it,  the  lib- 
eral men  were  sensitively  anxious  to  put  no  fetters  on 
each  other;  and  their  reluctance  to  circumscribe  their 
own  personal  freedom  was  extreme.  This  was  the 
cause  that  had  thus  far  prevented  any  effectual  organi- 
zation, and  it  now  withheld  the  members  from  any  but 
the  most  tentative  methods.  Having  escaped  from  the 
bondage  of  sect,  they  were  suspicious  of  everything  that 
in  any  manner  gave  indication  of  denominational  re- 
strictions. 

In  May,  1821,  a  year  later  than  the  foundation  of  the 

Berry  Street  Conference,  several  gentle- 
The  Publishing  ^^^  ^^  Boston,  "desirous  of  promoting 
Fund  Society.  ^  ^ 

the  circulation  of  works  adapted  to  im- 
prove the  public  mind  in  religion  and  morality,"  met  and 
established  a  Publishing  Fund.  The  publishing  com- 
mittee then  appointed  consisted  of  Dr.  Joseph  Tucker- 
man,  Dr.  John  Gorham  PaKrey,  and  Mr.  George  Ticknor. 
The  Publishing  Fund  Society  refused  to  print  doctrinal 
tracts  or  those  devoted  in  any  way  to  sectarian  interests. 
The  members  of  the  society  made  declaration  that  their 
pubhcations  had  nothing  to  do  with  any  of  the  isms  in 
religion.  Their  great  object  was  the  increase  of  practi- 
cal goodness,  the  improvement  of  men  in  all  that  truly 
exalts  and  ennobles  them  or  that  qualifies  them  for  use- 
fulness and  happiness.  Most  of  their  tracts  were  in  the 
form  of  stories  of  a  didactic  character,  in  which  the 
writers  assumed  the  broad  principles  of  Christian  theol- 


108  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

ogy  and  ethics  which  are  common  to  all  the  followers 
of  Christ,  without  meddling  with  sectarian  prejudice  or 
party  views.  In  such  statements  as  these  the  promoters 
of  this  work  indicated  their  methods,  their  aim  being  to 
furnish  good  reading  to  youth,  and  to  those  in  scattered 
communities  who  could  not  have  access  to  books  that 
were  instructive.  Besides  the  tracts  of  this  kind  the  so- 
ciety also  pubHshed  a  series  for  adults,  which  were  of  a 
more  strictly  devotional  character,  and  yet  did  not  omit 
to  provide  entertainment  and  instruction.*  This  soci- 
ety continued  its  work  for  many  years,  and  it  issued  a 
considerable  number  of  tracts  and  books  that  well 
served  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  designed. 

One  important  result  of  the  theological  discussions  of 
the  time  was  the    organization    of   the 

Harvard  Divinity  Di^i^^ty  School  in  connection  with  Har- 
School. 

vard    College.     The  eighteenth-century 

method  of  preparation  for  the  ministerial  office  was  to 
study  with  some  settled  pastor,  who  directed  the  reading 
of  the  student,  gave  him  practical  acquaintance  with  the 
labors  of  a  pastor,  and  initiated  him  into  the  profession 
by  securing  for  him  the  "  approbation "  of  the  ministe- 
rial association  with  which  he  was  connected.  Another 
method  was  for  the  student  to  continue  his  residence  in 
Cambridge,  and  follow  his  theological  studies  under  the 
guidance  of  the  president  and  the  Hollis  professor,  mak- 
ing use  of  the  library  of  the  college.  When  Rev. 
Henry  Ware  was  inducted  into  the  Holhs  professorship, 
it  was  seen  that  some  more  systematic  method  of  theo- 
logical study  was  desirable.  He  gradually  enlarged  the 
scope  of  his  activities,  and  in  1811  he  began  a  syste- 
matic course  of  instruction  for  the  resident  students  in 

*  Christian  Examiner,  I,  248. 


PERIOD    OF    CONTROVERSY  109 

theology.  Ware  "  was  one  of  those  genuine  lovers  of 
reform  and  progress,"  as  John  Gorham  Palfrey  said, 
"  who  are  always  ready  for  any  innovation  for  the  better ; 
who,  in  the  pursuit  of  what  is  truly  good  and  useful,  are 
not  only  content  to  move  on  with  the  age,  but  desirous 
to  move  on  before  it."  *  This  effort  of  his  to  improve 
the  methods  of  theological  study  proved  to  be  the  germ 
of  the  existing  Divinity  School. 

The  Holhs  professorship  of  divinity  was  founded  by 
Thomas  Mollis,  of  London,  in  1721.  Samuel  Dexter,  of 
Boston,  established  a  lectureship  of  Bibhcal  criticism  in 
1811.  Both  the  professorship  and  the  lectureship  were 
designed  for  the  undergraduates,  and  not  primarily  for 
students  in  theology.  In  1815,  however,  it  became 
apparent  to  some  of  the  liberals  that  a  school  wholly 
devoted  to  the  preparation  of  young  men  for  the  min- 
istry was  needed. 

Those  who  subscribed  to  the  $30,000  secured  for  this 
purpose  were  in  1816  formed  into  the  Society  for  the 
Promotion  of  Theological  Education  in  Harvard  Uni- 
versity. This  society  rendered  efficient  aid  to  the 
school  for  several  years.  At  a  meeting  held  at  the 
Boston  Athenaeum,  July  17,  1816,  Rev.  John  T.  Kirk- 
land  became  its  president,  Rev.  Francis  Parkman,  re- 
cording secretary,  Rev.  Charles  Lowell,  corresponding 
secretary,  and  Jonathan  Phillips,  treasurer.  The  so- 
ciety was  supported  by  annual  subscriptions,  life  sub- 
scriptions, and  donations.  The  school  began  its  work 
in  1816,  with  Rev.  Andrews  Norton  as  the  Dexter  lect- 
urer on  Bibhcal  criticism.  Rev.  J.  T.  Kirkland  as  in- 
structor in  systematic  theology.  Rev.  Edward  Everett  in 
the  criticism  of  the  Septaugint,  Professor  Sidney  Wil- 

*American  Unitarian  Biography,  Life  of  Henry  Ware,  I.  241. 


110  UNITAKIANISM   IN    AMEEICA 

laxd  in  Hebrew,  and  Professor  Levi  Frisbie  in  ethics. 
In  1819  Mr,  Norton  was  advanced  to  a  professorship, 
and  thereafter  devoted  his  whole  time  to  the  school ;  and 
during  that  year  the  school  was  divided  into  three 
classes.  In  1824  the  Society  for  the  Promotion  of 
Theological  Education  took  the  general  direction  of  the 
school,  arranging  the  course  of  study  and  otherwise  as- 
suming a  supervision,  which  continued  until  1831,  when 
the  school  received  a  place  as  one  of  the  departments 
of  the  university.  In  1826  a  building  was  erected  for 
the  school  by  the  society,  which  has  borne  the  name  of 
Divmity  Hall.  In  1828  a  professorship  of  pulpit  elo- 
quence and  pastoral  care  was  established  by  the  society, 
and  in  1830  the  younger  Henry  Ware  entered  upon  its 
duties.*  He  was  succeeded  in  1842  by  Rev.  Con- 
vers  Francis.  In  1830  Rev.  John  Gorham  Palfrey  be- 
came the  professor  of  Biblical  literature,  and  soon  after 
the  instructor  in  Hebrew.  Rev.  George  Rapall  Noyes, 
in  1840,  took  the  Hancock  professorship  of  Hebrew  and 
the  Dexter  lectureship  in  BibUcal  criticism. 

Though  organized  and  conducted  by  the  Unitarians, 
the  Divinity  School  was  from  the  first  unsectarian  in  its 
purpose  and  methods ;  for  the  Society  for  the  Promotion 
of  Theological  Education,  on  its  organization,  put  into 
its  constitution  this  fundamental  law :  "  It  being  under- 
stood that  every  encouragement  be  given  to  the  serious, 
impartial  and  unbiassed  investigation  of  Christian  truth, 
and  that  no  assent  to  the  pecuHarities  of  any  denomi- 
nation be  required  either  of  the  students  or  professors  or 
instructors." 


*  James  Walker,  Christian  Examiner,  X.  129 ;  John  G.  Palfrey,  Chris- 
tian Examiner,  XI.  84 ;  The  Divinity  School  of  Harvard  University :  Its 
History,  Courses  of  Study,  Aims  and  Advantag'es. 


PERIOD    OF    CONTROVEESY  111 

The  first  outspoken  periodical  on  the  liberal  side  that 
aimed  at  being  distinctly  denominational 

The  Unitarian  ^^^  published  in  Baltimore.  Dr.  Free- 
Miscellany.  ^ 

man  preached  in  that  city  in  1816,  with 

the  result  that  during  the  following  year  a  church  was 
organized  there.  It  was  there  in  1819,  on  the  occasion 
of  the  ordination  of  Rev.  Jared  Sparks  as  the  first  min- 
ister of  this  church,  that  Dr.  Channing  gave  utterance 
to  the  first  great  declaration  of  the  Unitarian  position, 
in  a  sermon  that  has  never  been  surpassed  in  this  coun- 
try as  an  intellectual  interpretation  of  the  highest  spir- 
itual problems. 

In  January,  1821,  Rev.  Jared  Sparks  began  the  publi- 
cation in  Baltimore  of  The  Unitarian  Miscellany  and 
Christian  Monitor ;  and  for  three  years  he  was  its  editor. 
For  another  three  years  it  was  conducted  by  his  succes- 
sor in  the  Baltimore  pulpit,  Rev.  Francis  W.  P.  Green- 
wood, who  continued  it  until  he  became  the  minister  of 
King's  Chapel,  when  it  ceased  to  exist.  During  the 
six  years  of  its  publication  this  magazine  was  ably  ed- 
ited. It  was  controversial  in  a  liberal  spirit,  it  was  pos- 
itively denominational,  and  it  had  a  large  and  widely 
extended  circulation.  It  reported  all  prominent  Unita- 
rian events,  and  those  of  a  liberal  tendency  in  all  relig- 
ious bodies.  Attacks  on  Unitarianism  were  repelled, 
and  the  Unitarian  position  was  explained  and  vindi- 
cated. Mr.  Sparks  was  as  aggressive  as  Andrews  Nor- 
ton had  been,  and  was  by  no  means  willing  to  keep  to 
the  quiet  and  reticent  manner  of  the  Unitarians  of  Bos- 
ton. When  he  was  attacked,  he  replied  with  energy  and 
skill ;  and  he  carried  the  war  into  the  enemies'  camp. 
His  magazine  was  far  more  positive  than  anything  the 
liberals  had  hitherto  put  forth,  and  its  methods  were 


112  UNITAlilANISM    IN    AMERICA 

viewed  with  something  of  suspicion  in  the  conservative 
circles  of  Massachusetts.  He  pubhshed  a  series  of  let- 
ters on  the  Episcopal  Church  in  The  Unitarian  Mis- 
cellany, which  he  enlarged  and  put  into  a  book.*  An- 
other series  of  letters  was  on  the  comparative  moral 
tendencies  of  Trinitarian  and  Unitarian  doctrines,  and 
these  grew  into  a  volume.f  Both  were  in  reply  to 
attacks  made  upon  him,  and  both  were  regarded  with 
suspicion  and  doubt  by  the  men  about  Cambridge ;  but, 
in  time,  they  came  to  see  that  his  method  was  sincere, 
learned,  and  honest. 

In  The  Unitarian  Miscellany,  as  in  all  their  utter- 
ances of  this  time,  the  Unitarians  manifested  much 
anxiety  to  maintain  their  position  as  the  true  ex- 
pounders of  primitive  Christianity.  They  did  not  covet 
a  place  outside  the  larger  fellowship  of  the  Christian 
faith.  A  favorite  method  of  vindicating  their  right  to 
Christian  recognition  was  by  the  publication  of  the 
works  of  liberal  orthodox  writers  of  previous  genera- 
tions. Such  an  attempt  was  made  by  Jared  Sparks  in 
his  Collection  of  Essays  and  Tracts  in  Theology,  with 
Biographical  and  Critical  Notices,  issued  in  Boston 
from  1823  to  1826.  In  the  general  preface  to  these  six 
volumes,  Mr.  Sparks  said  that  "the  only  undeviating 
rule  of  selection  will  be  that  eve^y  article  chosen  shall 
be  marked  with  rational  and  liberal  views  of  Christian- 
ity, and  suited  to  inform  the  mind  or  improve  the 
temper  and  practice,"  and  that  the  series  was  "de- 
signed  to   promote    the    cause    of   sacred  learning,   of 

*  Letters  on  the  Ministry,  Ritual,  and  Doctrines  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church,  addressed  to  Rev.  William  E.  Wyatt,  D.D.,  in  Reply  to  a 
Sermon,  Baltimore,  1820. 

t  Comparative  Moral  Tendency  of  Trinitarian  and  Unitarian  Doctrines, 
addressed  to  Rev.  Samuel  Miller,  Boston,  1823. 


PERIOD   OF   CONTROVERSY  113 

truth  and  charity,  of  reUgious  freedom  and  rational 
piety."  In  the  first  volume  were  included  Turretin's 
essay  on  the  fundamentals  of  religious  truth,  a  number 
of  short  essays  by  Firmin  Abauzit,  Francis  Black- 
bume's  discussion  of  the  value  of  confessions  of  faith, 
and  several  essays  by  Bishop  Hoadley.  That  these 
writings  have  now  no  significance,  even  to  inteUigent 
readers,  does  not  detract  from  the  value  of  their  pubh- 
cation ;  for  they  had  a  living  meaning  and  power. 
Other  writers,  drawn  upon  in  the  succeeding  volumes 
were  Isaac  Newton,  Jeremy  Taylor,  John  Locke,  Isaac 
Watts,  William  Penn,  and  Mrs.  Barbauld.  The  cath- 
olicity of  the  editor  was  shown  in  the  wide  range  of 
his  authors,  whose  doctrinal  connections  covered  the 
whole  field  of  Christian  theology. 

In  the  publication  of  The  Unitarian  Miscellany,  Mr. 
Sparks  had  the  business  aid  of  the  Baltimore  Unitarian 
Book  Society,  formed  November  19,  1820,  which  was  or- 
ganized to  carry  on  this  work,  and  to  disseminate  other 
liberal  books  and  tracts.  This  society  distributed 
Bibles,  "  and  such  other  books  as  contain  rational  and 
consistent  "vdews  of  Christian  doctrines,  and  are  calcu- 
lated to  promote  a  correct  faith,  sincere  piety,  and  a  holy 
practice."  In  the  year  1821  was  formed  the  Unitarian 
Library  and  Tract  Society  of  New  York ;  and  similar 
societies  were  started  in  Philadelphia  and  Charleston 
soon  after,  as  well  as  in  other  cities.  Some  of  these  so- 
cieties published  books,  tracts,  and  periodicals,  all  of 
them  distributed  Unitarian  pubHcations,  and  libraries 
were  formed  of  liberal  works.  The  most  successful  of 
these  societies,  which  soon  numbered  a  score  or  two,  was 
that  in  Baltimore.  This  society  extended  its  missionary 
operations  with  the  printed  page  widely,  sending  tracts 


114  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

into  every  part  of  the  country,  the  demand  for  them 
having  become  very  large.  Its  periodical  had  an  ex- 
tended  circulation,  its  cheapness,  its  popular  character, 
and  its  outspoken  attitude  on  doctrinal  questions  serv- 
ing to  make  it  the  most  successful  of  the  liberal  publi- 
cations of  the  time.* 

On  April  20,  1821,  was  issued  the  first  number  of 
The  Christian  Register,  the  regular  weekly 

The  Christian  publication  of  which  began  with  August  24 
Register.  ^  °  .       t  <. 

of  that  year.     Its  four  pages  contamed  four 

columns  each,  but  the  third  of  these  pages  was  given 
to  secular  news  and  advertisements.  The  first  page 
was  devoted  to  general  religious  subjects,  the  second 
discussed  those  topics  which  were  of  special  interest  to 
Unitarians,  while  the  fourth  was  given  to  literary  mis- 
cellanies. Almost  notliing  of  church  news  was  reported, 
and  only  in  a  limited  way  was  the  paper  denominational. 
It  was  a  general  religious  newspaper  of  a  kind  that 
was  acceptable  to  the  liberals,  and  it  defended  and  in- 
terpreted their  cause  when  occasion  demanded.  The 
paper  was  started  wholly  as  an  individual  enterprise 
by  its  publisher.  Rev.  David  Reed,  who  acted  for 
about  five  years  as  its  editor.  He  had  the  encourage- 
ment of  the  leading  Unitarians  of  Boston  and  its  vicin- 
ity; and,  when  such  men  as  Charming,  Ware,  and 
Norton  wished  to  speak  for  the  Unitarians,  its  columns 
were  open  to  them.  Among  the  other  early  contributors 
were  Kirkland,  Story,  Edward  Everett,  Walker,  Dewey, 
Furness,  Palfrey,  Gannett,  Noah  Worcester,  Greenwood, 
Bancroft,  Sparks,  Alexander  Young,  Freeman,  Burnap, 
Pierpont,  Noyes,  Lowell,  Frothingham,  and  Pierce. 
In  his  prospectus  the  publisher  spoke  of  the  growth 

*H.  B.  Adams,  Life  and  Writings  of  Jared  Sparks,  I.  175. 


Edward  Everett 


PERIOD   OF   CONTROVERSY  115 

of  the  spirit  of  free  religious  inquiry  in  the  country ; 
and  he  said  that  in  all  classes  of  the  community  there 
was  an  eagerness  to  understand  theological  questions, 
and  to  arrive  at  and  practice  the  genuine  principles 
of  Christianity.  His  ideal  was  a  periodical  that  should 
present  the  same  doctrines  and  temper  as  The  Chris- 
tian Disciple,  but  that  would  be  of  a  more  popular 
character.  "The  great  object  of  The  Christian  Reg- 
ister," he  said  to  his  readers,  "will  be  to  inculcate 
the  principles  of  a  rational  faith,  and  to  promote  the 
practice  of  genuine  piety.  To  accomplish  this  purpose 
it  will  aim  to  excite  a  spirit  of  free  and  independent 
religious  inquiry,  and  to  assist  in  ascertaining  and 
bringing  into  use  the  true  principles  of  interpreting 
the  Scriptures." 

For  a  number  of  years  The  Christian  Register  con- 
formed to  "the  mild  and  amiable  spirit"  in  which  it 
began  its  career,  rarely  being  aroused  to  an  aggressive 
attitude,  and  seldom  undertaking  to  speak  for  Uni- 
tarianism  as  a  distinct  form  of  Christianity.  When 
the  Hberals  were  fiercely  attacked,  it  spoke  out,  as, 
for  instance,  at  the  time  when  the  Unitarians  were 
charged  with   stealing   churches  from   the    orthodox.* 

*Dr  George  E.  Ellis,  in  Unitarianism :  Its  origin  and  History,  147. 
The  most  prominent  instance  was  that  of  the  First  Church  in  Dedham,  and 
this  was  decided  by  legal  proceedings.  "The  question  recognized  by  the 
court  waa  simply  this  :  whether  the  claimants  had  been  lawfully  appointed 
deacons  of  the  First  Church  ;  that  is,  whether  the  body  which  had  appointed 
them  was  by  law  the  First  Church.  The  decision  of  the  court  was  as  fol- 
lows: 'When  the  majority  of  the  members  of  a  Congregational  church 
separate  from  the  majority  of  the  parish,  the  members  who  remain,  al- 
though a  minority,  constitute  the  church  in  such  parish,  and  retain  the 
rights  and  property  belonging  thereto.'  This  legal  decision  would  haye 
been  regarded  as  a  momentous  one  had  it  applied  only  to  the  single  case 
then  in  hearing.  But  it  was  the  establishment  of  a  precedent  which  would 
dispose  of  all  cases  then  to  be  expected  to  present  themselves  in  the 
troubles  of  the  time  between  parishes  and  the  churches  gathered  within 


116  UNITAKIANISM   IN   AMEEICA 

Otherwise  it  was  mild  and  placid  enough,  given  to 
expressing  its  friendly  interest  in  every  kind  of  reform, 
from  the  education  of  women  to  the  emancipation  of 
slaves,  thoroughly  humanitarian  in  its  attitude,  not 
doctrinal  or  controversial,  but  faithfully  catholic  and 
tolerant.  It  was  a  well-conducted  periodical,  repre- 
sented a  wide  range  of  interests,  and  was  admirably 
suited  to  interpret  the  temper  and  spirit  of  a  rational 
religion.  It  is  now  the  oldest  weekly  rehgious  news- 
paper pubhshed  in  this  country.  As  the  leading  Uni- 
tarian periodical,  it  is  still  conducted  with  notable 
enterprise  and  abihty. 

Another  periodical  also  deserves  mention  in  this 
connection,  and  that  is  the  North  American  Review, 
which  was  begun  by  William  Tudor,  one  of  the  mem- 
bers of  The  Anthology  Club,  in  May,  1815.  While  it 
was  not  religious  in  its  character,  it  was  from  the  first, 
and  for  more  than  sixty  years,  edited  by  Unitarians ; 
and  its  contributors  were  very  largely  from  that  re- 
ligious body.  The  same  tendencies  and  conditions  that 
led  the  liberals  to  establish  The  Monthly  Anthology, 
The  Christian  Disciple,  and  The  Christian  Examiner, 
gave  demand  amongst  them  for  a  distinctly  hterary  and 
critical  journal.  They  had  gained  that  form  of  liberated 
and  catholic  culture  which  made  such  works  possible, 
and  to  a  large  extent  they  afforded  the  public  necessary 
to  their  support.  Mr.  Tudor  was  succeeded  as  the 
editor  of  the  review  by  Professor  Edward  T.  Channing, 

them.  The  full  purport  of  this  decision  was  that  the  law  did  not  recognize 
a  church  independently  of  its  connection  with  the  parish  in  which  it  was 
gathered,  from  which  it  might  sever  itself  and  carry  property  with  it."  It 
was  in  accordance  with  the  practice  in  New  England  for  at  least  a  century 
preceding  the  decision  in  the  Dedham  case,  and  the  decision  was  rendered 
as  the  result  of  this  practice. 


PERIOD   OF   CONTROVERSY  117 

and  then  followed  in  succession  Edward  Everett,  Jared 
Sparks,  Alexander  H.  Everett,  John  Gorham  Palfrey, 
Francis  Bowen,  and  Andrew  P.  Peabody,  all  Unita- 
rians. Among  the  early  Unitarian  contributors  were 
Nathan  Hale,  Joseph  Story,  Nathaniel  Bowditch,  W.  H. 
Prescott,  WiUiam  Cullen  Bryant,  and  Theophilus 
Parsons.  For  many  years  few  of  the  regular  con- 
tributors were  from  any  other  religious  body,  not  be- 
cause the  editors  put  restrictions  upon  others,  but 
because  those  who  were  interested  m  general  literary, 
historical,  and  scientific  subjects  belonged  almost  ex- 
clusively to  the  churches  of  this  faith. 

The  controversy  which  began  in  1805  continued  for 
about  twenty  years.     The  pamphlets  and 

Results  of  the  books  it  brought  forth  are  almost  for- 
Division  in  Con-  ,     ,  ,  ,   ,  , .    ,      . 

eregationalism  gotten,  and  they  would  have  httle  inter- 
est at  the  present  time.  They  gradually 
widened  the  breach  between  the  orthodox  and  the 
liberal  Congregationalists.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
name  a  decisive  date  for  their  actual  separation.  The 
organization  of  the  societies,  and  the  estabhshment  of 
the  periodicals  abeady  mentioned,  were  successive 
steps  to  that  result.  The  most  important  event  was 
undoubtedly  the  formation  of  the  American  Unitarian 
Association,  in  1825 ;  but  even  that  important  move- 
ment on  the  part  of  the  Unitarians  did  not  bring  about 
a  final  separation.  Individual  churches  and  ministers 
continued  to  treat  each  other  with  the  same  courtesy 
and  hospitality  as  before. 

That  the  breach  was  inevitable  seems  to  be  the 
verdict  of  history ;  and  yet  it  is  not  difficult  to  see 
to-day  how  it  might  have  been  avoided.  The  Unitarians 
were    dealt   with  in    such  a  manner   that   they  could 


118  UNITARIANISM   IN   ARIERICA 

not  continue  the  old  connection  without  great  dis- 
comfort and  loss  of  self-respect.  They  were  forced  to 
organize  for  self -protection,  and  yet  they  did  so  re- 
luctantly and  with  much  misgiving.  They  would  have 
preferred  to  remain  as  members  of  the  united  Con- 
gregational body,  but  the  theological  temper  of  the 
time  made  this  impossible.  It  would  not  be  just  to  say 
that  there  was  actual  persecution,  but  there  could  not 
be  unity  where  there  was  not  community  of  thought 
and  faith. 

When  the  division  in  the  Congregational  churches 
came,  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  churches  allied 
themselves  with  the  Unitarians, —  one  hundred  in 
Massachusetts,  a  score  in  other  parts  of  New  England, 
and  a  half-dozen  west  of  the  Hudson  River.  These 
churches  numbered  among  them,  however,  many  of  the 
oldest  and  the  strongest,  including  about  twenty  of  the 
first  twenty-five  organized  in  Massachusetts,  and  among 
them  Plymouth  (organized  in  Scrooby),  Salem,  Dor- 
chester, Boston,  Watertown,  Roxbury,  Hingham,  Con- 
cord, and  Quincy.  The  ten  Congregational  churches 
in  Boston,  with  the  exception  of  the  Old  South,  allied 
themselves  with  the  Unitarians.  Other  first  churches 
to  take  this  action  were  those  of  Portsmouth,  Kenne- 
bunk,  and  Portland. 

Outside  New  England  a  beginning  was  made  almost 
as  soon  as  the  Unitarian  name  came  into  recognition. 
At  Charleston,  S.C.,  the  Congregational  church,  which 
had  been  very  liberal,  was  divided  in  1816  as  the 
result  of  the  preaching  of  Rev.  Anthony  Forster. 
He  was  led  to  read  the  works  of  Dr.  Priestley,  and 
became  a  Unitarian  in  consequence.  Owing  to  ill- 
health,  he  was  soon  obliged  to  resign ;  and  Rev.  Samuel 


PEEIOD   OF   CONTROVERSY  119 

Gilman  was  installed  in  1819.  Rev.  Robert  Little,  an 
English  Unitarian,  took  up  his  residence  in  Washington 
in  1819,  and  began  to  preach  there;  and  a  church  was 
organized  in  1821.  While  chaplain  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  in  1821-22,  Jared  Sparks  preached  to 
this  society  fortnightly,  and  in  the  House  Chamber  on 
the  alternate  Sunday.  When  he  went  to  Charleston,  in 
1819,  to  assist  in  the  installation  of  Mr.  Gilman,  he 
preached  to  a  very  large  congregation  in  the  state- 
house  in  Raleigh  ;  and  the  next  year  he  spoke  to  large 
congregations  in  Virginia.*  More  than  a  decade  earlier 
there  were  individual  Unitarians  in  Kentucky,  f  On 
his  journey  to  the  ordination  of  Jared  Sparks,  Dr. 
Channing  preached  in  a  New  York  parlor ;  and  on  his 
return  he  occupied  the  lecture-hall  of  the  Medical 
School.  The  result  was  the  First  Congregational 
Church  (All  Souls'),  organized  in  1819,  wliich  was 
followed  by  the  Church  of  the  Messiah  in  1825.  In 
fact,  many  of  the  more  intelligent  and  thoughtful  per- 
sons everywhere  were  inclined  to  accept  a  liberal  inter- 
pretation of  Christianity. 

Although  the  Congregational  body  was  divided  into 
two  distinct  denominations,  there  were  three  organiza- 
tions, formed  prior  to  that  event,  which  have  remained 
intact  to  this  day.  In  these  societies  Orthodox  and 
Unitarian  continue  to  unite  as  Congregationahsts,  and 
the  sectarian  hues  are  not  recognized.  The  first  of 
these    organizations   is    the    Massachusetts    Congrega- 

*H.  B.  Adams,  Life  and  Writings  of  Jared  Sparks,  gives  a  most 
interesting  account  in  his  earlier  chapters  of  the  origin  of  Unitarianism, 
especially  of  its  begfinnings  in  Baltimore  and  other  places  outside  New 
England. 

t  James  Garrard,  governor  of  Kentucky  from  1796  to  1802,  was  a 
Unitarian.  Harry  Toulmin,  president  of  Transylvania  Seminary  and 
secretary  of  the  state  of  Kentucky,  was  also  a  Unitarian. 


120  UNITARIANISM   IN   A]\IERICA 

tional  Charitable  Society,  which  was  formed  early  in 
the  eighteenth  century  for  the  purpose  of  securing 
"support  to  the  widows  and  children  of  deceased 
congregational  mmisters."  The  second  is  the  Massa- 
chusetts Convention  of  Congregational  Ministers,  also 
formed  early  in  the  eighteenth  century,  although  its 
records  begin  only  with  the  year  1748.  It  was  formed 
for  consultation,  advice,  and  counsel,  to  aid  orphans 
and  widows  of  ministers,  and  to  secure  the  general 
promotion  of  the  interests  of  religion.  The  convention 
sermon  has  been  one  of  the  recognized  institutions  of 
Massachusetts,  and  since  the  beginning  of  the  Unita- 
rian controversy  it  has  been  preached  alternately  by 
ministers  of  the  two  denominations.  The  Society  for 
Propagatmg  the  Gospel  among  the  Indians  and  Others 
in  North  America  was  formed  in  1787.  The  members, 
officers,  and  missionaries  of  tliis  society  have  been  of 
both  denominations;  and  the  work  accomplished  has 
been  carried  on  in  a  spirit  of  amity  and  good-will. 
These  societies  indicate  that  co-operation  may  be  se- 
cured without  theological  unity,  and  it  is  possible  that 
they  may  become  the  basis  in  the  future  of  a  closer 
sympathy  and  fellowship  between  the  severed  Congre- 
gational churches. 

From  the  beginning  the  Uberal  movement  had  been 
more  or  less  intimately  associated  with 
Final  Separation  ^j^^^  ^qj.  ^]^g  promotion  of  religious  free- 
Church  ^^^  ^^^  ^^®  separation  of  state  and 
church.  Many  of  the  states  withdrew 
religion  from  state  control  on  the  adoption  of  the  Fed- 
eral Constitution.  In  New  England  this  was  done  in 
the  first  years  of  the  century.  Connecticut  came  to  this 
result  after  an  exciting  agitation  in  1818.     Massachu- 


PEKIOD   OF   CONTROVERSY  121 

setts  was  more  tenacious  of  the  old  ways;  but  in  1811 
its  legislative  body  passed  a  "religious  freedom  act," 
that  secured  individuals  from  taxation  for  the  support 
of  churches  ^vith  which  they  were  not  connected.  The 
constitutional  convention  of  1820  proposed  a  bill  of 
rights  that  aimed  to  secure  rehgious  freedom,  but  it 
was  defeated  by  large  majorities.  It  was  only  when 
church  property  was  given  by  the  courts  to  the  parish 
in  preference  to  the  church,  and  when  the  "standing 
order"  churches  had  been  repeatedly  foiled  in  their 
efforts  to  retain  the  old  prerogatives,  that  a  majority 
could  be  secured  for  religious  freedom.  In  November, 
1833,  the  legislature  submitted  to  the  people  a  revision 
of  the  bill  of  rights,  which  provided  for  the  separation 
of  state  and  church,  and  the  voluntary  support  of 
churches.  A  majority  was  secured  for  this  amendment, 
and  it  became  the  law  in  1834.  Massachusetts  was  the 
last  of  all  the  states  to  arrive  at  this  result,  and  a  far 
greater  effort  was  required  to  bring  it  about  than  else- 
where. The  support  of  the  churches  was  now  purely 
voluntary,  the  state  no  longer  lending  its  aid  to  tax 
person  and  property  for  their  maintenance. 

Thus  it  came  about  that  Massachusetts  adopted  the 
principle  and  method  of  Roger  Williams  after  two 
centuries.  For  the  first  time  she  came  to  the  full 
recognition  of  her  own  democratic  ideals,  and  to  the 
practical  acceptance  of  the  individualism  for  which  she 
had  contended  from  the  beginning.  She  had  fought 
stubbornly  and  zealously  for  the  faith  she  prized  above 
all  other  tilings,  but  by  the  logic  of  events  and  the 
greatness  of  the  principle  of  liberty  she  was  conquered. 
The  minister  and  the  meeting-house  were  by  her  so 
dearly  loved  that  she  could  not  endure  the  thought  of 


122  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

having  them  shorn  of  any  of  their  power  and  influence ; 
but  for  the  sake  of  their  true  life  she  at  last  found  it 
wise  and  just  to  leave  all  the  people  free  to  worship 
God  in  their  own  way,  without  coercion  and  without 
restraint. 

Although  the  liberal  ministers  and  churches  led  the 
way  in  securing  rehgious  freedom,  yet  they  were  socially 
and  intellectually  conservative.  Radical  changes  they 
would  not  accept,  and  they  moved  away  from  the  old 
beHefs  with  great  caution.  The  charge  that  they  were 
timid  was  undoubtedly  true,  though  there  is  no  evi- 
dence that  they  attempted  to  conceal  their  real  behefs. 
Evangelical  enthusiasm  was  not  congenial  to  them,  and 
they  rejected  fanaticism  in  every  form.  They  had  a 
deep,  serious,  and  spiritual  faith,  that  was  intellectual 
without  being  rationalistic,  marked  by  strong  common 
sense,  and  vigorous  with  moral  integrity.  They  per- 
mitted a  wide  latitude  of  opinion,  and  yet  they  were 
thoroughly  Christian  in  their  convictions.  Most  of 
them  saw  in  the  miracles  of  the  New  Testament  the 
only  positive  evidence  of  the  truth  of  Christianity, 
which  was  to  them  an  external  and  supernatural  rev- 
elation. They  were  quite  wilHng  to  follow  Andrews 
Norton,  however,  who  was  the  chief  defender  of  the 
miraculous,  in  his  free  criticism  of  the  Old  Testament 
and  the  birth-stories  in  the  Gospels. 

The  liberal  ministers  fostered  an  intellectual  and 
literary  expression  of  religion,  and  yet  their  chief 
characteristic  was  their  spirituality.  They  aimed  at 
ethical  msight  and  moral  integrity  in  their  influence 
upon  men  and  women,  and  at  cultivating  purity  of  life 
and  an  inward  probity.  In  large  degree  they  developed 
the    spirit   of   philanthropy   and  a  fine  regard  for  the 


PERIOD   OF   CONTROVEKSY  123 

rights  and  the  welfare  of  others.  They  were  not 
sectarian  or  zealous  for  bringing  others  to  the  acceptance 
of  their  own  beliefs ;  but  they  were  generous  in  behalf 
of  all  public  interests,  faithful  to  all  civic  duties,  and 
known  for  their  private  generosity  and  faithful  Chris- 
tian living.  Under  the  leadership  of  Dr.  Channing 
the  Catholic  Christians,  as  they  preferred  to  call  them- 
selves, cultivated  a  spirituality  that  was  devout  with- 
out being  rituahstic,  sincere  without  being  fanatical. 
The  churches  around  them,  to  a  large  degree,  kept 
zealously  to  the  externals  of  religion,  and  accepted 
physical  e\'idences  of  the  truthfulness  of  Christianity ; 
but  Channing  sought  for  what  is  deeper  and  more 
permanent.  His  preference  of  rationality  to  the  tes- 
timony of  miracles,  spiritual  insight  to  external  evi- 
dences, devoutness  of  life  to  the  rites  of  the  church, 
characterized  him  as  a  great  religious  leader,  and  de- 
veloped for  the  Catholic  Christians  a  new  type  of 
Christianity.  Whatever  Channing's  limitations  as  a 
thinker  and  a  reformer,  he  was  a  man  of  prophetic 
insight  and  lofty  spiritual  vision.  In  other  ages  he 
would  have  been  canonized  as  a  saint  or  called  the 
beatific  doctor ;  but  in  Boston  he  was  a  heretic  and  a 
reformer,  who  sought  to  lead  men  into  a  faith  that  is 
ethical,  sincere,  and  humanitarian.  He  prized  Christianity 
for  what  it  is  in  itself,  for  its  inwardness,  its  fidelity  to 
human  nature,  and  its  ethical  integrity.  His  mind  was 
always  open  to  truth,  he  was  always  young  for  hberty, 
and  his  soul  dwelt  in  the  serene  atmosphere  of  a  pure 
and  lofty  faith. 


VI. 

THE   AMERICAN    UNITARIAN   ASSOCIATION. 

The  time  had  come  for  the  liberals  to  organize  in  a 
more  distinctive  form,  in  order  that  they  might  secure 
permanently  the  results  they  had  already  attained. 
The  demand  for  organization,  however,  came  almost 
wholly  from  the  younger  men,  those  who  had  grown 
up  under  the  influence  of  the  freer  hfe  of  the  hberal 
churches  or  who  had  been  trained  in  the  independent 
spirit  of  the  Divinity  School  at  Harvard.  The  older 
men,  for  the  most  part,  were  bound  by  the  traditions  of 
"the  standing  order":*  they  could  not  bring  them- 
selves to  desire  new  conditions  and  new  methods. 

The  spirit  of  the  older  and  leading  laymen  and  min- 
isters is  admirably  illustrated  in  Rev.  O.  B.  Frothing- 
ham's  account  of  his  father  in  his  book  entitled  Boston 
Unitarianism.  They  were  interested  in  many  public- 
spirited  enterprises,  and  the  social  circle  in  which  they 
moved  was  cultivated  and  refined ;  but  they  were  pro- 
vincial, and  little  inchned  to  look  beyond  the  limits 
of  their  own  immediate  interests.  Dr.  Nathaniel  L. 
Frothingham,  minister  of  the  First  Church  in  Boston, 
one  of  the  earliest  American  students  of  German 
literature  and  philosophy,  and  a  man  of  rational  insight 
and  progressive  thinking,  may  be  regarded  as  a  repre- 
sentative of   the  best  type  of   Boston  minister  in  the 

*An  eighteenth-century  term  for  the  Congregational  churches,  •which 
were  the  legally  established  churches  throughout  New  England,  and 
supported  by  the  towns. 


W" 


AMERICAN   UNITARIAN   ASSOCIATION  125 

first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  In  a  sermon 
preached  in  1835,  on  the  occasion  of  the  twentieth 
anniversary  of  his  settlement,  Dr.  Frothingham  said 
that  he  had  never  before  used  the  word  "Unitarian" 
in  his  pulpit,  though  his  church  had  been  for  thirty 
years  counted  as  Unitarian.  "We  have,"  he  said, 
"  made  more  account  of  the  religious  sentiment  than  of 
theological  opinions."  In  this  attitude  he  was  in  har- 
mony with  the  leading  men  of  his  day.* 

Channing,  for  instance,  was  opposed  to  every  phase 
of  religious  organization  that  put  bonds  upon  men ;  and 
he  would  accept  nothing  in  the  form  of  a  creed.  He 
severely  condemned  "the  guilt  of  a  sectarian  spirit," 
and  said  that  "  to  bestow  our  affections  on  those  who 
are  ranged  under  the  same  human  leader,  or  who 
belong  to  the  same  church  with  ourselves,  and  to  with- 
hold it  from  others  who  possess  equal  if  not  superior 
virtue,  because  they  bear  a  different  name,  is  to  prefer 
a  party  to  the  church  of  Christ."  f  In  1831  he  de- 
scribed Unitarianism  as  being  "  characterized  by  noth- 
ing more  than  by  the  spirit  of  freedom  and  individuality. 
It  has  no  established  creed  or  symbol,"  he  wrote.  "  Its 
friends  think  each  for  himself,  and  differ  much  from 
each  other."  :j:  Later  he  wrote  to  a  friend :  "  I  dis- 
trust sectarian  influence  more  and  more.  I  am  more 
detached  from  a  denomination,  and  strive  to  feel  more 
my  connection  with  the  Universal  Church,  with  all  good 
and  holy  men.  I  am  little  of  a  Unitarian,  and  stand 
aloof  from  all  but  those  who  strive  and  pray  for  clearer 
light,  who  look  for  a  purer  and  more  effectual  manifes- 
tation of  Christian  truth."  § 

*  Boston  Unitarianism,  67. 

t  Memoir  of  Dr.  Channing,  one-volume  edition,  216. 

t  Ibid.,  432,  §  Ibid,,  427. 


y 


126  UNITAEIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

Many  of  the  Unitarians  were  in  fullest  sympathy 
with  Channing  as  to  the  fundamental  law  of  spiritual 
freedom  and  as  to  the  evils  of  sectarianism.  A  consid- 
erable number  of  them  were  in  agreement  with  him  as 
to  the  course  pursued  by  the  Unitarian  movement. 
Having  escaped  from  one  sect,  they  were  not  ready  to 
commit  themselves  to  the  control  of  another.  There- 
fore they  withheld  themselves  from  all  definitely  organ- 
ized phases  of  Unitarianism,  and  would  give  no  active 
support  to  those  who  sought  to  bring  the  liberals  to- 
gether for  purposes  of  protection  and  forward  move- 
ment. Under  these  circumstances  it  was  difficult  to 
secure  concert  of  action  or  to  make  successful  any  defi- 
nite missionary  enterprise,  however  little  of  sectarian- 
ism it  might  manifest.  Even  to  the  present  time 
Unitarianism  has  shown  this  independence  on  the  part 
of  local  churches  and  this  freedom  on  the  part  of  indi- 
viduals. Because  of  this  attitude,  unity  of  action  has 
been  difficult,  and  denominational  loyalty  never  strong 
or  assured. 

However,  a  different  spirit  animated  the  younger 
men,  who  persisted  in  their  effort  to  secure  an  organiza- 
tion that  would  represent  distinctively  the  Unitarian 
thought  and  sentiment.  The  movement  towards  organ- 
ization had  its  origin  and  impulse  in  a  group  of  young 
ministers  who  had  been  trained  at  the  Harvard  Divinity 
School  under  Professor  Andrews  Norton.  While  Nor- 
ton was  conservative  in  theology  and  opposed  to  secta- 
rian measures,  his  teaching  was  radical,  progressive,  and 
stimulating.  His  students  accepted  his  spirit  of  intel- 
lectual progress,  and  often  advanced  beyond  his  more 
conservative  teachings.  In  the  years  between  1817  and 
1824  James  Walker,  John  G.  Palfrey,  Jared  Sparks, 


AMERICAN    UNITARIAN   ASSOCIATION  127 

Alexander  Young,  John  Pierpont,  Ezra  S.  Gannett, 
Samuel  Barrett,  Thomas  R.  Sullivan,  Samuel  J.  May, 
Calvin  Lincobi,  and  Edward  B.  Hall  were  students  in 
the  Divinity  School ;  and  all  of  these  men  were  leaders 
in  the  movement  to  organize  a  Unitarian  Association. 
Pierpont  gave  the  name  to  the  new  organization,  dis- 
tinctly defining  it  as  Unitarian.  Gannett,  Palfrey,  and 
Hall  served  it  as  presidents ;  Gannett,  Lincoln,  and 
Young,  as  secretaries.  Walker,  Palfrey,  and  Barrett 
gave  it  faithful  service  as  directors,  and  Lincoln  as  its 
active  missionary  agent.  A  number  of  young  laymen 
in  Boston  and  elsewhere,  mostly  graduates  of  Harvard 
College,  were  also  interested  in  the  formation  of  the 
new  organization.  Among  them  were  Charles  G.  Lor- 
ing,  Robert  Rantoul,  Samuel  A.  Eliot,  Leverett  Salston- 
stall,  George  B.  Emerson,  and  Alden  Bradford.  All 
these  young  men  were  afterwards  prominent  in  the 
affairs  of  the  city  or  state,  and  they  were  faithful  to  the 
interests  of  the  Unitarian  churches  with  which  they 
were  connected. 

The  first  proposition  to  form  a  Unitarian  organization 

for  missionary  purposes  was  made  in  a  meet- 
.  ing  of   the  Anonymous  Association,  a  club 

to  which  belonged  thirty  or  forty  of  the 
leading  men  of  Boston.  They  were  all  connected  with 
Unitarian  churches,  and  were  actively  interested  in  pro- 
moting the  growth  of  a  hberal  form  of  Christianity. 
It  appears  from  the  journal  of  David  Reed,  for  many 
years  the  editor  and  publisher  of  The  Christian  Regis- 
ter, that  the  members  of  this  association  were  in  the 
habit  of  meeting  at  each  other's  houses  during  the  year 
1824  for  the  purpose  of  discussing  important  subjects 
connected   with   rehgion,  morals,  and   politics.      At  a 


128  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

meeting  held  at  the  house  of  Hon.  Josiah  Quincy  in 
the  autumn  of  that  year,  attention  was  called  to  certain 
articles  that  had  been  published  in  The  Christian  Reg- 
ister, and  the  importance  was  suggested  of  promoting  the 
growth  of  liberal  Christianity  through  the  distribution 
of  the  printed  word.  A  resolution  was  submitted,  inquir- 
ing if  measures  could  not  be  taken  for  uniting  the  efforts 
of  liberal-minded  persons  to  give  greater  efficiency  to  the 
attempt  to  extend  a  knowledge  of  Unitarian  principles 
by  means  of  the  pubHc  press ;  and  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  consider  and  report  on  the  expediency  of  form- 
ing an  organization  for  this  purpose.  This  committee 
consisted  of  Rev.  Henry  Ware,  the  younger,  Alden 
Bradford,  and  Richard  Sullivan.  Henry  Ware  was  the 
beloved  and  devoted  minister  of  the  Second  Church  in 
Boston.  His  colleagues  were  older  men,  both  graduates 
of  Harvard  College  and  prominent  in  the  social  and 
business  life  of  Boston.  The  purpose  which  these  men 
had  in  mind  was  well  defined  by  Dr.  Gannett,  writing 
twenty  years  after  the  event :  "  We  found  ourselves," 
he  said,  "under  the  painful  necessity  of  contributing 
our  assistance  to  the  propagation  of  tenets  which  we 
accounted  false  or  of  forming  an  association  through 
which  we  might  address  the  great  truths  of  religion  to 
our  fellow-men  without  the  adulteration  of  erroneous 
dogmas.  To  take  one  of  these  courses,  or  to  do  nothing 
in  the  way  of  Christian  beneficence,  was  the  only  alter- 
native permitted  to  us.  The  name  which  we  adopted 
has  a  sectarian  sound;  but  it  was  chosen  to  avoid 
equivocation  on  the  one  hand  and  misapprehension  on 
the  other."  *  The  committee,  under  date  of  December 
29,  1824,  sent  out  a  circular  inviting  a  meeting  of  all 

*  Memoir  of  Ezra  Stiles  Gannett,  by  W.  C.  Gannett,  103. 


AMERICAN   UNITAKIAN   ASSOCIATION  129 

interested,  "in  order  to  confer  together  on  the  expe- 
diency of  appointing  an  annual  meeting  for  the  purpose 
of  union,  sympathy,  and  co-operation  in  the  cause  of 
Christian  truth  and  Christian  charity."  In  this  circular 
will  be  found  the  origin  of  the  clause  in  the  present 
constitution  of  the  Unitarian  Association  defining  its 
purposes. 

In  response  to  this  call  a  meeting  was  held  in  the 
vestry  of  the  Federal  Street  Church  on  January 
27,  1825.  Dr.  Channing  opened  the  meeting  with 
prayer.  Richard  Sullivan  was  chosen  moderator,  and 
James  Walker  secretary.  There  were  present  all  those 
who  have  been  hitherto  named  in  connection  with  this 
movement,  together  with  many  others  of  the  leading 
laymen  and  ministers  of  the  Hberal  churches  in  New 
England.*  The  record  of  the  meeting  made  by  Rev. 
James  Walker  is  preserved  in  the  first  volume  of  the 
correspondence  of  the  Unitarian  Association;  and  it 
enables  us,  in  connection  with  the  more  confidential 
reminiscences  of  David  Reed,  to  give  a  fairly  complete 
record  of  what  was  said  and  done.  Henry  Ware,  the 
yoimger,  in  behaK  of  the  committee,  presented  a  state- 
ment of  the  objects  proposed  by  those  desirous  of 
organizing  a  national  Unitarian  society ;  and  he  offered 
a  resolution  declaring  it  "  desirable  and  expedient  that 
provision  should  be  made  for  future  meetings  of  Uni- 

*  The  records  give  the  following^  names :  Drs.  Freeman,  Channing, 
Lowell,  Tuckerman,  Bancroft,  Pierce,  and  AUyn ;  Rev.  Messrs.  Henry 
Ware,  Francis  Parkman,  J.  G.  Palfrey,  Jared  Sparks,  Samuel  Ripley,  A. 
Bigelow,  A.  Abbot,  C.  Francis,  L.  Capen,  J.  Pierjjont,  James  Walker,  ISIr. 
Harding,  and  Mr.  Edes ;  and  the  following  laymen, —  Richard  Sullivan, 
Stephen  Higginson,  B.  Gould,  H.  J.  Oliver,  S.  Dorr,  Colonel  Joseph  May, 
C.  G.  Loring,  George  Bond,  Samuel  A.  Eliot,  G.  B.  Emerson,  C.  P.  Phelps, 
Lewis  Tappan,  David  Reed,  Mr.  Storer,  J.  Rucker,  N.  Mitchell,  Robert 
Rantoul,  Alden  Bradford,  Mr.  Dwight,  Mr.  Mackintosh,  General  Walker, 
Mr.  Strong,  Dr.  John  Ware,  and  Professor  Andrews  Norton. 


130  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

tarians  and  liberal  Christians  generally."  The  adoption 
of  this  resolution  was  moved  by  Stephen  Higginson ; 
and  the  discussion  was  opened  by  Dr.  Aaron  Bancroft, 
the  learned  and  honored  minister  of  the  Second  Church 
in  Worcester.  He  was  fearful  that  sufficient  care 
might  not  be  taken  as  to  the  manner  of  instituting  the 
proposed  organization,  and  he  doubted  its  expediency. 
He  was  of  the  opinion  that  Unitarianism  was  to  be 
propagated  slowly  and  silently,  for  it  had  succeeded  in 
his  own  parish  because  it  had  not  been  openly  advo- 
cated. He  did  not  wish  to  oppose  the  design  generally, 
but  he  was  convinced  that  it  would  do  more  harm  than 
good. 

Dr.  Bancroft  was  followed  by  Professor  Andrews 
Norton,  the  greatly  respected  teacher  of  most  of  the 
younger  ministers,  who  defended  the  proposed  organiza- 
tion, and  said  that  its  purpose  was  not  to  make  pros- 
elytes. Then  Dr.  Channing  arose,  and  gave  to  the 
proposition  of  the  committee  a  guarded  approval.  He 
thought  the  object  of  the  convention,  as  he  wished  to 
call  it,  should  be  to  "  spread  our  views  of  religion,  not 
our  mere  opinions,  for  our  religion  is  essentially  practi- 
cal." The  friendly  attitude  of  Channing  gave  added 
emphasis  to  the  disapproval  of  the  prominent  laymen 
who  spoke  after  him.  Judge  Charles  Jackson,  an  emi- 
nent justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Massachusetts, 
thought  there  was  danger  in  the  proposed  plan,  that  it 
was  not  becoming  to  liberal  Christians,  that  it  was  in- 
consistent with  their  principles,  and  that  it  would  not 
be  beneficial  to  the  community.  He  was  ready  to  give 
his  aid  to  any  specific  work,  but  he  thought  that  every- 
thing could  be  accomphshed  that  was  necessary  without 
a  general  association  of  any  kind.     The  same  opinion 


AMERICAN   UNITARIAN   ASSOCIATION  131 

was  expressed  by  George  Bond,  a  leading  merchant  of 
Boston,  who  was  afraid  that  Unitarianism  would  be- 
come popular,  and  that,  when  it  had  gained  a  majority 
of  the  people  of  the  country  to  its  side,  it  would  be- 
come as  intolerant  as  the  other  sects.  For  this  reason 
he  beheved  the  measure  inexpedient,  and  moved  an 
adjournment  of  the  meeting. 

Three  of  the  most  widely  known  and  respected  of 
the  older  ministers  also  spoke  in  opposition  to  the 
proposition  to  form  an  association  of  hberal  Christians. 
These  men  were  typical  pastors  and  preachers,  whose 
parishes  were  limited  only  by  the  town  in  which  they 
hved,  and  who  preached  the  gospel  without  sectarian^ 
prejudice  or  doctrinal  qualifications.  Dr.  John  Pierce,  of 
Brookline,  thought  the  measure  of  the  committee  "  very 
dangerous,"  and  Hkely  to  do  much  harm  in  many  of 
the  parishes  by  arousing  the  sectarian  spirit.  He  spoke 
three  times  in  the  course  of  the  meeting,  opposing  with 
his  accustomed  vehemence  all  attempt  at  organization. 
Dr.  Abiel  Abbot,  of  Beverly,  thought  that  presenting 
a  distinct  object  for  opposition  would  arrest  the  prog- 
ress of  Unitarianism,  for  in  his  neighborhood  hberal 
Christianity  owed  everything  to  slow  and  silent  prog- 
ress. Dr.  John  Allyn,  of  Duxbury,  one  of  the  most 
original  and  learned  ministers  of  his  time  in  New 
England,  was  opposed  to  the  use  of  any  sectarian 
name,  especially  that  of  Unitarian  or  Liberal.  He 
was  willing  to  join  in  a  general  convention,  and  he 
desired  to  have  a  meeting  of  delegates  from  all  sects. 
He  expressed  the  opinion  of  several  leading  men  who 
were  present  at  this  meeting,  who  favored  an  unsec- 
tarian  organization,  that  should  include  all  men  of 
liberal  opinions,  of  whatever  name  or  denominational 
connection. 


132  UNITAEIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

Those  who  were  in  favor  of  a  Unitarian  Association 
did  not  remain  silent,  and  they  spoke  with  clearness  and 
vigor  in  approval  of  the  proposition  of  the  committee. 
Alden  Bradford,  who  became  the  Secretary  of  State  in 
Massachusetts,  and  wrote  several  valuable  biographical 
and  historical  works,  thought  that  Unitarians  were  too 
timid  and  did  not  wisely  defend  their  position.  He 
was  followed  by  Andrews  Norton  in  a  vigorous  dec- 
laration of  the  importance  of  the  association,  in  the 
course  of  which  he  pointed  out  how  inadequately  Uni- 
tarians had  protected  and  fostered  the  institutions 
under  their  care,  and  declared  that  closer  union  was 
necessary.  Jared  Sparks  also  earnestly  favored  the 
project,  and  said  that  what  was  proposed  was  not  a 
plan  of  proselyting.  It  was  his  opinion  that  Unita- 
rians ought  to  come  forward  in  support  of  their  views 
of  truth,  and  that  an  association  was  necessary  in  order 
to  promote  sympathy  among  them  throughout  the  coun- 
try. Colonel  Joseph  May,  who  had  been  for  thirty  years 
a  warden  of  King's  Chapel,  and  a  man  held  in  high  es- 
teem in  Boston,  referred  to  the  work  already  accom- 
plished by  the  zeal  and  effort  of  the  few  Unitarians 
who  had  worked  together  to  promote  liberal  interests. 
The  most  incisive  word  spoken,  however,  came  from 
John  Pierpont,  who  was  just  coming  into  his  fame  as  an 
orator  and  a  leader  in  reforms.  "  We  have,"  he  de- 
clared, "  and  we  must  have,  the  name  Unitarian.  It  is 
not  for  us  to  shrink  from  it.  Organization  is  necessary 
in  order  to  maintain  it,  and  organization  there  must  be. 
The  general  interests  of  Unitarians  will  be  promoted  by 
using  the  name,  and  organizing  in  harmony  with  it." 

In  the  long  discussion  at  this  meeting  it  appears  that, 
of  the  ministers,    Channing,  Norton,  Bancroft,   Ware, 


AMERICAN    UNITARIAN   ASSOCIATION  133 

Pierpont,  Sparks,  Edes,  Nichols,  Parker,  Thayer,  Wil- 
lard,  and  Harding  were  in  favor  of  organization ;  Pierce, 
Allyn,  Abbot,  Freeman,  and  Bigelow,  against  it.  Of 
the  laymen,  Charles  Jackson  and  George  Bond  were  vig- 
orously in  opposition ;  and  Judge  Story,  Judge  White, 
Judge  Howe,  of  Northampton,  Alden  Bradford,  Lev- 
erett  Salstonstall,  Stephen  Higginson,  and  Joseph  May 
spoke  in  favor.  The  result  of  the  meeting  was  the 
appointment  of  a  committee,  consisting  of  Sulhvan, 
Bradford,  Ware,  Channing,  Palfrey,  Walker,  Pierpont, 
and  Higginson,  which  was  empowered  to  call  together 
a  larger  meeting  at  some  time  during  the  session  of  the 
General  Court.  But  this  committee  seems  never  to 
have  acted.  At  the  end  of  his  report  of  this  prelim- 
inary meeting  James  Walker  wrote:  The  meeting 
proposed  was  never  called.  As  there  appeared  to  be  so 
much  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  expediency  and 
nature  of  the  measure  proposed,  it  was  thought  best  to 
let  it  subside  in  silence." 

The  zeal  of  those  favorable  to  organization,  however, 
did  not  abate ;  and  the  discussion  went  on  throughout 
the  winter.  On  May  25,  1825,  at  the  meeting  of  the 
Berry  Street  Conference  of  Ministers,  Henry  Ware,  the 
younger,  who  had  been  chairman  of  the  first  committee, 
renewed  the  effort,  and  presented  the  following  state- 
ment as  a  declaration  of  the  purposes  of  the  proposed 
organization :  — 

It  is  proposed  to  form  a  new  association,  to  be 
called  The  American  Unitarian  Society.  The  chief  and 
ultimate  object  mil  be  the  promotion  of  pure  and  unde- 
filed  rehgion  by  dissemmating  the  knowledge  of  it 
where  adequate  means  of  religious  instruction  are  not 
enjoyed.  A  secondary  good  which  will  follow  from  it 
is  the  union  of  all  Unitarian  Christians  in  this  country. 


134  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

SO  that  they  would  become  mutually  acquainted,  and 
the  concentration  of  their  efforts  would  increase  their 
efficiency.  The  society  will  embrace  all  Unitarian 
Christians  in  the  United  States.  Its  operations  would 
extend  themselves  through  the  whole  country.  These 
operations  would  chiefly  consist  in  the  pubhcation  and 
distribution  of  tracts,  and  the  support  of  missionaries. 

It  was  announced  that  in  the  afternoon  a  meeting 
would  be  held  for  the  fui'ther  consideration  of  the  sub- 
ject. This  meeting  was  held  at  four  o'clock,  and  Dr. 
Henry  Ware  acted  as  moderator.  The  opponents  of 
organization  probably  absented  themselves,  for  action 
was  promptly  taken,  and  it  was  "  Voted,  that  it  is  expe- 
dient to  form  a  new  society  to  be  called  the  American 
Unitarian  Association."  All  who  were  present  expressed 
themselves  as  in  favor  of  this  action.  Rev.  James 
Walker,  Mr.  Lewis  Tappan,  and  Rev.  Ezra  S.  Gannett 
were  appointed  a  committee  to  draft  a  form  of  organi- 
zation. On  the  next  morning,  Thursday,  May  26,  1825, 
this  committee  reported  to  a  meeting,  of  which  Dr.  Na- 
thaniel Thayer,  of  Lancaster,  was  moderator;  and,  with 
one  or  two  amendments,  the  constitution  prepared  by 
the  committee  was  adopted.  This  constitution,  with 
slight  modifications,  is  still  in  force.  The  object  of  the 
Association  was  declared  to  be  "  to  diffuse  the  knowl- 
edge and  promote  the  interests  of  pure  Christianity." 
A  committee  to  nominate  officers  selected  Dr.  Channing 
for  president ;  Joseph  Story,  of  Salem,  Joseph  Lyman, 
of  Northampton,  Stephen  Longfellow,  of  Portland, 
Charles  H.  Atherton,  of  Amherst,  N.H.,  Henry  Whea- 
ton,  of  New  York,  James  Taylor,  of  Philadelphia, 
Henry  Payson,  of  Baltimore,  William  Cranch,  of  Alex- 
andria, Martin  L.  Hurlbut,  of  Charleston,  as  vice-presi- 


AMERICAN   UNITARIAN   ASSOCIATION  135 

dents ;  Ezra  S.  Gannett,  of  Boston,  for  secretary ; 
Lewis  Tappan,  of  Boston,  for  treasurer ;  and  Andrews 
Norton,  Jared  Sparks,  and  James  Walker,  for  executive 
committee. 

When  Mr.  Gannett  wrote  to  his  colleague.  Dr.  Chan- 
ning,  to  notify  him  of  his  election  as  president,  there 
came  a  letter  declining  the  proffered  office.  "  I  was  a 
Httle  disappointed,"  Channing  wrote,  "  at  learning  that 
the  Unitarian  Association  is  to  commence  operations 
immediately.  I  conversed  with  Mr.  Norton  on  the 
subject  before  leaving  Boston,  and  found  him  so  in- 
disposed to  engage  in  it  that  I  imagined  that  it  would 
be  let  alone  for  the  present.  The  office  which  in  your 
kindness  you  have  assigned  to  me  I  must  beg  to  decline. 
As  you  have  made  a  beginning,  I  truly  rejoice  in  your 
success."  Norton  and  Sparks  also  declined  to  serve  as 
directors,  ill-health  and  previous  engagements  being 
assigned  by  them  for  their  inability  to  act  with  the 
other  officers  elected.  The  executive  committee  pro- 
ceeded to  fill  these  vacancies  by  the  election  of  Dr. 
Aaron  Bancroft,  of  Worcester,  as  president,  and  of  the 
younger  Henry  Ware  and  Samuel  Barrett  to  the  ex- 
ecutive committee ;  and  the  board  of  directors  thus 
constituted  administered  the  Association  during  its 
first  year. 

In  the  selection  of  Dr.  Bancroft  as  the  head  of  the 
new  association  a  wise  choice  was  made,  for  he  had  the 
executive  and  organizing  ability  that  was  eminently 
desirable  at  this  juncture.  He  was  an  able  preacher, 
and  one  of  the  strongest  thinkers  in  the  Unitarian 
body.  His  biography  of  Washington  had  made  him 
widely  known ;  and  his  volume  of  controversial  sermons, 
published  in  1822,  had  received  the  enthusiastic  praise 


136  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

of  John  Adams  and  Thomas  Jefferson.  When  he  was 
settled,  he  was  almost  an  outcast  in  Worcester  County 
because  of  his  liberalism ;  but  such  were  the  strength 
of  his  character  and  the  power  of  his  thought  that 
gradually  he  secured  a  wide  hearing,  and  became  the 
most  popular  preacher  in  Central  Massachusetts.  After 
fifty  years  of  his  ministry  he  could  count  twenty-one 
vigorous  Unitarian  societies  about  liim,  all  of  which 
had  profited  by  his  influence.*  Although  he  was 
seventy  years  of  age  at  the  time  he  accepted  the  presi- 
dency of  the  Unitarian  Association,  he  was  in  the  full 
enjoyment  of  his  powers  ;  and  he  filled  the  office  for 
ten  years,  giving  it  and  the  cause  wliich  the  Association 
represented  the  impetus  and  weight  of  his  sound  judg- 
ment and  deserved  reputation. 

The  executive  work  of  the  Association  fell  to  the 
charge  of  the  secretary,  Ezra  S.  Gannett,  who  had  been 
one  of  the  most  enthusiastic  advocates  of  the  new 
organization.  Gannett  was  but  twenty-four  years  old, 
and  had  been  but  one  year  in  the  active  ministry,  as  the 
colleague  of  Dr.  Channing.  He  had  youth,  zeal,  and 
executive  force.  Writing  of  him  after  his  death.  Dr. 
Bellows  said :  "  He  had  rare  administrative  qualities 
and  a  statesmanlike  mind.  He  would  have  been  a 
leader  anywhere.  He  had  the  ambition,  the  faculties, 
and  the  impulsive  temperament  of  an  actor  in  affairs. 
He  had  the  fervor,  the  concentration  of  will,  the  pas- 
sionate enthusiasm  of  conviction,  the  love  of  martyrdom, 
which  make  men  great  in  action."  f  Throughout  his 
life  Gannett  labored  assiduously  for  the  Association, 
serving   it   in   every   capacity,   refusing   no   drudgery, 

*  John  Brazer,  The  Christian  Examiner,  xx.  240 ;  Alonzo  Hill,  Amer- 
ican Unitarian  Biography,  i.  171. 

tThe  Liberal  Christian,  March  3,  1875. 


AMERICAN    UNITARIAN   ASSOCIATION  137 

travelling  over  the  country  in  its  interests,  and  giving 
himself,  heart  and  soul,  to  the  cause  it  represented. 
The  Unitarian  cause  never  had  a  raore  devoted  friend 
or  one  who  made  greater  sacrifices  in  its  behalf.  To 
him  more  than  to  any  other  man  it  owes  its  organized 
life  and  its  missionary  serviceableness. 

Lewis  Tappan,  the  treasurer,  was  a  successful  young 
business  man.  His  term  of  service  was  brief ;  for  two 
years  after  the  organization  of  the  Association  he  re- 
moved to  New  York,  where  he  had  an  honorable  career 
as  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Journal  of  Commerce, 
and  as  the  head  of  the  first  mercantile  agency  estab- 
lished in  the  country.  He  was  later  one  of  the  anti- 
slavery  leaders  in  New  York,  and  an  active  and  earnest 
member  of  Plymouth  Church  in  Brooklyn.* 

The  executive  committee  was  composed  of  the  three 
devoted  young  ministers  who  had  been  foremost  in 
organizing  the  Association.  Barrett  was  thirty,  Ware 
and  Walker  were  thirty-one  years  of  age ;  and  all  three 
had  been  in  Harvard  College  and  the  Divinity  School 
together.  Samuel  Barrett  had  just  been  chosen  min- 
ister of  the  newly  formed  Twelfth  Congregational 
Church  of  Boston,  which  he  served  throughout  his  life. 
He  was  identified  with  all  good  causes  in  Eastern  Mas- 
sachusetts, a  founder  of  the  Benevolent  Fraternity,  and 

*  Althongh  Lewis  Tappan  took  a  zealous  interest  in  the  formation  of 
the  Unitarian  Association,  as  he  did  in  all  Unitarian  activities  of  the  time, 
in  the  autumn  of  1827  he  withdrew  from  the  Unitarian  fellowship,  and 
joined  the  orthodox  Congregationalist.  In  a  letter  addressed  to  a  Unita- 
rian minister  he  explained  his  reasons  for  so  doing.  This  letter  circulated 
for  some  time  in  manuscript,  and  in  1828  was  printed  in  a  pamphlet  with 
the  title,  Letter  from  a  Gentleman  in  Boston  to  a  Unitarian  Clergyman  of 
that  City.  Want  of  piety  among  Unitarians,  failure  to  sustain  mission- 
ary enterprises,  and  the  absence  of  a  rigid  business  integrity  he  assigned  as 
reasons  for  his  withdrawal.  This  pamphlet  excited  much  discussion,  pro 
and  con ;  and  it  was  answered  in  a  caustic  review  by  J.  P.  Blanchard. 


138  UNITAKIANISM   IN   AAIERICA 

an  overseer  of  Harvard  College.  Henry  Ware,  the 
younger,  was,  at  the  time  of  liis  election,  the  minister 
of  the  Second  Church  in  Boston.  Five  years  later  he 
became  professor  in  the  Harvard  Divinity  School,  and 
his  memory  is  still  cherished  as  the  teacher  and  exem- 
plar of  a  generation  of  Unitarian  ministers.  James 
Walker  was,  in  1825,  the  minister  of  the  Harvard 
Church  in  Charlestown,  and  already  gave  evidence  of 
the  sanity  and  catholicity  of  mind,  the  practical  organ- 
izing power,  the  wide  philosophic  culture,  and  the 
dignity  of  character  which  afterward  distinguished  him 
as  professor  in  Harvard  College,  and  as  its  president. 
Thus  the  organization  started  on  its  way,  as  the  re- 
sult of  the  determined  purpose  of  a  small  company  of 
the  younger  ministers  and  laymen.  It  took  a  name  that 
separated  it  from  all  other  rehgious  organizations  in 
this  country,  so  far  as  its  members  then  knew.  The 
Unitarian  name  had  been  first  definitely  used  in  this 
country  in  1815,  to  describe  the  liberal  or  Catholic 
Christians.  They  at  first  scornfully  rejected  it,  but 
many  of  them  had  finally  come  to  rejoice  in  its  declarar 
tion  of  the  simple  unity  of  God.  As  a  matter  of  his- 
tory, it  may  be  said  that  the  word  "  Unitarian "  was 
used  in  this  doctrinal  sense  only ;  and  it  had  none  of  the 
implications  since  given  it  by  philosophy  and  science. 
Those  who  used  it  meant  thereby  to  say  that  they  ac- 
cepted the  doctrine  of  the  absolute  unity  of  God,  and 
that  the  position  of  Christ  was  a  subordinate  though 
a  very  exalted  one.  No  one  can  read  their  statements 
with  historic  apprehension,  and  arrive  at  any  other  con- 
clusion. Yet  these  persons  had  no  wish  to  cut  them- 
selves off  from  historic  Christianity ;  rather  was  it  their 
intent  to  restore  it  to  its  primitive  purity. 


AMERICAN   UNITARIAN   ASSOCIATION  139 

If  others  were  disinclined  to  action,  the  executive 

committee  of  the  Unitarian  Association  was 

_.   ^  „  determined  that  something  should  be  done. 

First  Year.  * 

At  their  first  meeting,  held  in  the  secre- 
tary's study  four  days  after  their  election,  there  were 
present  Norton,  Walker,  Tappan,  and  Gannett.  They 
commissioned  Rev.  Warren  Burton  to  act  as  their  agent 
in  visiting  neighboring  towns  to  sohcit  funds,  and  a 
week  later  they  voted  to  employ  him  as  a  general 
agent.  The  committee  held  six  meetings  during  June ; 
and  at  one  of  these  an  address  was  adopted,  defining 
the  purposes  and  methods  of  the  Association.  "They 
wish  it  to  be  understood,"  was  their  statement,  "that 
its  efforts  will  be  directed  to  the  promotion  of  true 
reHgion  throughout  our  country ;  intending  by  this,  not 
exclusively  those  views  which  distinguish  the  friends 
of  this  Association  from  other  disciples  of  Christ ;  but 
those  views  in  connection  with  the  great  doctrines  and 
principles  in  which  all  Cluistians  coincide,  and  which 
constitute  the  substance  of  our  religion.  We  wish  to 
diffuse  the  knowledge  and  influence  of  the  gospel  of 
our  Lord  and  Saviour.  Great  good  is  anticipated  from 
the  co-operation  of  persons  entertaining  similar  views, 
who  are  now  strangers  to  each  other's  religious  senti- 
ments. Interest  will  be  awakened,  confidence  inspired, 
and  efficiency  produced  by  the  concentration  of  labors. 
The  spirit  of  inquiry  will  be  fostered,  and  individuals 
at  a  distance  will  know  where  to  apply  for  information 
and  encouragement.  Respectability  and  strength  will 
be  given  to  the  class  among  us  whom  our  fellow-Chris- 
tians have  excluded  from  the  control  of  their  religious 
charities,  and  whom,  by  their  exclusive  treatment,  they 
have  compelled  in  some  measure   to  act  as  a  party." 


140  UNITAKIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

The  objects  of  the  Association  were  stated  to  be  the 
collection  of  information  about  Unitarianism  in  various 
parts  of  the  country ;  the  securing  of  union,  sympathy, 
and  co-operation  among  liberal  Christians ;  the  publish- 
ing and  distribution  of  books  inculcating  correct  views 
of  religion ;  the  employment  of  missionaries,  and  the 
adoption  of  other  measures  that  might  promote  the 
general  purposes  held  in  view. 

At  the  end  of  the  year  the  Association  held  its  first 
anniversary  meeting  in  Pantheon  Hall,  on  the  evening 
of  June  30,  1826,  when  addresses  were  made  by  Hon. 
Joseph  Story,  Hon.  Leverett  Salstonstall,  Rev.  Ichabod 
Nichols,  and  Rev.  Henry  Coleman.  The  executive 
committee  presented  its  report,  which  gave  a  detailed 
account  of  the  operations  during  the  year.  They  gave 
special  attention  to  their  discovery  of  "  a  body  of 
Christians  in  the  Western  states  who  have  for  years 
been  Unitarians,  have  encountered  persecution  on  ac- 
count of  their  faith,  and  have  lived  in  ignorance  of 
others  east  of  the  mountains  who  maintained  many 
similar  views  of  Christian  doctrine."  With  this  group 
of  churches,  which  would  consent  to  no  other  name 
than  that  of  Christian,  a  correspondence  had  been 
opened ;  and,  to  secure  a  larger  acquaintance  with  them, 
Rev.  Moses  G.  Thomas  *  had  visited  several  of  the 
Western  states.  His  tour  carried  him  through  Penn- 
sylvania, Ohio,  Kentucky,  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  as  far 
as  St.  Louis.  His  account  of  his  journey  was  pub- 
lished in  connection  with  the  second  report  of  the  As- 
sociation, and  is  full  of  interest.     He  did  not  preach, 

*  Moses  George  Thomas  was  a  graduate  of  Brown  and  of  the  Harvard 
Divinity  School,  was  settled  in  Dover,  N.H.,  from  1829  to  1845,  Broadway 
Church  in  South  Boston  from  1845  to  1848,  New  Bedford  1848  to  1854,  and 
was  subsequently  minister  at  large  in  the  same  city. 


AilERICAN   UNITARIAN   ASSOCIATION  141 

but  he  carefully  investigated  the  religious  prospects  of 
the  states  he  journeyed  through;  and  he  sought  the 
acquaintance  of  the  Christian  churches  and  ministers. 
He  gave  an  enthusiastic  account  of  his  travels,  and 
reported  that  the  west  was  a  promising  field  for  the 
planting  of  Unitarian  churches.  He  recommended 
Northumberland,  Harrisburg,  Pittsburg,  Steubenville, 
Marietta,  Paris,  Lexington,  Louisville,  St.  Louis,  St. 
Charles,  Indianapolis,  and  Cincinnati  as  promising 
places  for  the  labors  of  Unitarian  missionaries, —  places 
"which  will  properly  appreciate  their  talents  and 
render  them  doubly  useful  in  their  day  and  generation." 
During  the  first  year  of  its  existence  the  Unitarian 
Association  endeavored  to  unite  with  itself,  or  to 
secure  the  co-operation  of,  the  Society  for  the  Promo- 
tion of  Christian  Knowledge,  Piety,  and  Charity,  the 
Evangehcal  Missionary  Society,  and  the  Publishing 
Fund  Society ;  but  these  organizations  were  unwilling 
to  come  into  close  affiliation  with  it.  The  Evangehcal 
Missionary  Society  has  continued  its  separate  existence 
to  the  present  time,  but  the  others  were  absorbed  by 
the  Unitarian  Association  after  many  years.  This  is 
one  indication  of  how  difficult  it  was  to  secure  an 
active  co-operation  among  Unitarians,  and  to  bring 
them  all  into  one  vigorous  working  body.  In  conclud- 
ing their  first  report,  the  officers  of  the  Association 
alluded  to  the  difficulties  with  which  they  had  met 
and  the  reluctance  of  the  liberal  churches  to  come  into 
close  affihation  with  each  other.  "  They  have  strenu- 
ously opposed  the  opinion,"  they  said  of  the  leaders  of 
the  Association,  "  that  the  object  of  the  founders  was  to 
build  up  a  party,  to  organize  an  opposition,  to  perpetuate 
pride  and  bigotry.     Had  they  believed  that  such  was  its 


142  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

purpose  or  such  would  be  its  effect,  they  would  have 
withdrawn  themselves  from  any  connection  with  so 
hateful  a  thing.  They  thought  otherwise,  and  experi- 
ence has  proved  they  did  not  judge  wrongly." 

Having  thus  organized  itself  and  begun  its  work,  the 
Association  went  quietly  on  its  way.  At  no 
Work  of  the  ^[^q  during  the  first  quarter  of  a  century  of 
of  a  Century  ^^^  existence  did  it  secure  annual  contribu- 
tions from  one-half  the  churches  calling  them- 
selves Unitarian,  and  it  did  well  when  even  one-third  of 
them  contributed  to  its  treasury  during  any  one  year. 
The  churches  of  Boston,  for  the  most  part,  held  aloof 
from  it,  and  gave  it  only  a  feeble  support,  if  any  at  all. 
They  had  so  long  accepted  the  spirit  of  congregational 
exclusiveness,  had  so  great  a  dread  of  interference  on  the 
part  of  ecclesiastical  organizations,  and  so  keenly  sus- 
pected every  attempt  at  co-operation  on  the  part  of  the 
churches  as  likely  to  lead  to  restrictions  upon  congre- 
gational independence,  that  it  was  nearly  impossible 
to  secure  their  aid  for  any  kind  of  common  work.  Very 
slowly  the  contributions  increased  to  the  sum  of  $5,000 
a  year,  and  only  once  in  the  first  quarter  of  a  century 
did  the  total  receipts  of  a  year  reach  $15,000.  With 
so  small  a  treasury  no  great  work  could  be  undertaken ; 
but  the  money  given  was  husbanded  to  the  utmost,  and 
the  salaries  paid  to  clerks  and  the  general  secretary 
were  kept  to  the  lowest  possible  Umit. 

Dr.  Bancroft  was  succeeded  in  the  presidency  of  the 
Association,  in  1836,  by  Dr.  Channing,  who  nominally 
held  the  position  for  one  year ;  but  at  the  next  annual 
meeting  he  declined  to  have  liis  name  presented  as  a 
candidate.*     The  office  was  then  filled  by  Dr.  Ichabod 

*  In  writing  to  Charles  Brig^  from  Newport,  under  date  of  July  30. 
1836,  Dr.  Channing  wrote,  "  In  the  pressure  of  subjects,  when  I  saw  you,  1 


AMERICAN    UNITARIAN   ASSOCIATION  143 

Nichols,  of  Portland,  who  served  from  1837  to  1844. 
He  was  the  minister  of  the  First  Church  in  Portland 
from  1809  to  1855,  and  then  retired  to  Cambridge,  where 
he  wrote  his  Natural  Theology  and  liis  Hours  with  the 
Evangehsts.  Joseph  Story,  the  great  jurist,  who  had 
been  vice-president  of  the  Association  from  1826  to 
1836,  was  elected  president  in  1844,  and  served  for  one 
year.  He  was  followed  by  Dr.  Orville  Dewey,  who  was 
president  from  1845  to  1847.  He  had  been  settled  in 
New  Bedford,  and  over  the  Church  of  the  Messiah  in 
New  York ;  and  subsequently  he  had  short  pastorates  in 
Albany,  in  Washington,  and  over  the  New  South  Church 
in  Boston.  His  lectures  and  his  sermons  have  made  him 
widely  known.  In  intellectual  and  emotional  power  he 
was  one  of  the  greatest  preachers  the  country  has  pro- 
duced. Dr.  Gannett  served  as  the  president  from  1847 
to  1851,  being  succeeded  by  Dr.  Samuel  K.  Lothop,  who 
continued  to  hold  the  office  until  1856.  Dr.  Lothrop 
was  first  settled  in  Dover,  N.H.,  but  became  the  minister 
of  the  Brattle  Street  Church,  Boston,  in  1834,  retaining 
that  position  until  1876. 

The  office  of  secretary  was  held  by  Rev.  Ezra  S.  Gan- 
nett until  1831.  He  was  succeeded  in  that  year  by 
Rev.  Alexander  Young,  who  held  the  position  for  two 
years.  Dr.  Young  was  the  minister  of  the  New  South 
Church  from  1825  until  his  death,  in  1854.  His  Chron- 
icles of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  and  other  works,  have 
given  him  a  reputation  as  a  historian.  In  1829  the 
office  of  foreign  secretary  was  created ;  and  it  was  held 
by  the  younger  Henry  Ware  from  1830  to  1834,  when 

forgot  to  say  to  yon,  that  I  cannot  accept  the  office  with  which  the  Unitarian 
Aflsociation  honored  me."  That  is  the  whole  of  what  he  wrote  on  the  sub- 
ject. No  one  else  was  elected  to  the  office  for  the  year.  It  is  evident,  there- 
fore, that  hia  name  should  occupy  the  place  of  president. 


144  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

it  ceased  to  exist.  Rev.  Samuel  Barrett  was  secretary 
in  1833  and  1834,  and  recording  secretary  until  1837. 
In  1834  the  office  of  general  secretary  was  established, 
in  order  to  secure  the  services  of  an  active  missionary. 
Rev.  Jason  Wliitman,  who  held  this  position  for  one 
year,  had  been  the  minister  in  Saco ;  and  he  was  after- 
ward settled  in  Portland  and  Lexington.  Rev.  Charles 
Briggs  became  the  general  secretary  in  1835,  and  con- 
tinued in  office  until  the  end  of  1847.  He  had  been 
settled  in  Lexington,  but  did  not  hold  a  pastorate  sub- 
sequent to  his  connection  with  the  Association.  In  the 
mean  time  Rev.  Samuel  K.  Lothrop  was  the  assistant  or 
recording  secretary  from  1837  to  1847.  In  1847  Rev. 
WilHam  G.  Eliot  was  elected  the  general  secretary ;  but 
he  did  not  serve,  owing  to  the  claims  of  his  parish  in  St. 
Louis.  Rev.  Frederick  West  Holland,  who  had  been 
settled  in  Rochester,  was  made  the  general  secretary  in 
January,  1848 ;  and  he  held  the  position  until  the  amiual 
meeting  of  1850.  Subsequently  he  was  settled  in  East 
Cambridge,  Neponset,  North  Cambridge,  Rochester,  and 
Newburg. 

It  was  Charles  Briggs  who  first  gave  definite  purpose 
to  the  missionary  work  of  the  Association.  The  annual 
report  of  1850  said  of  him  that  he  "  had  led  the  institu- 
tion forward  to  liigh  ground  as  a  missionary  body,  by 
unfailing  patience  prevailed  over  every  discouragement, 
by  inexhaustible  hope  surmounted  serious  obstacles,  by 
the  most  persuasive  gentleness  conciliated  opposition, 
and  done  perhaps  as  much  as  could  be  asked  of  somid 
judgment,  knowledge  of  mankind,  and  devotion  to  the 
cause,  with  the  drawback  of  a  slender  and  failing 
frame."  In  1845  Rev.  George  G.  Channing  entered 
upon  a  service  as  the  travelling  agent  of  the  Associa- 


AMERICAN    UNITARIAN   ASSOCIATION  145 

tion,  which  he  continued  for  two  years.  His  duties 
required  him  to  take  an  active  interest  in  missionary 
enterprises,  revive  drooping  churches,  secure  informa- 
tion as  to  the  founding  of  new  churches,  and  to  add  to 
the  income  of  the  Association.  He  was  a  brother  of 
Dr.  Channing,  held  one  or  two  pastorates,  and  was  the 
founder  and  editor  of  The  Christian  World,  which  he 
published  in  Boston  as  a  weekly  Unitarian  paper  from 
January,  1843,  to  the  end  of  1848. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Unitarian  Association  held  on 
June  3,  1847,  the  final  steps  were  taken  that  secured 
its  incorporation  under  the  laws  of  Massachusetts.  In 
the  revised  constitution  the  fifteen  vice-presidents  were 
reduced  to  two,  and  the  president  and  vice-presidents 
were  made  members  of  the  executive  committee,  and  so 
brought  into  intimate  connection  with  the  work  of  the 
Association.  The  directors  and  other  officers  were 
made  an  executive  committee,  by  which  all  affairs  of 
moment  must  be  considered;  and  it  was  required  to 
hold  stated  monthly  meetings.  These  changes  were 
conducive  to  an  enlarged  interest  in  the  work  of  the 
Association,  and  also  to  the  more  thorough  considera- 
tion of  its  activities  on  the  part  of  a  considerable  body 
of  judicious  and  experienced  officers.  They  were  made 
in  recognition  of  the  increasing  missionary  labors  of  the 
Association,  and  enabled  it  thenceforth  to  hold  and  to 
manage  legally  the  moneys  that  came  under  its  control. 

One    of  the  first  subjects  to  which  the  Association 

gave  attention  was  the  pubhcation  of 
Publication  of  i.       i.       •       £      i.-  -u  •         j    j      • 

T     t       d  B    k     ^^^*^^S'  31^  *^*  which  were  issued  durmg 

the  first  year.  In  connection  with  their 
publication  a  series  of  depositaries  was  established  for 
their  sale.     David  Reed  of  The  Christian  Register  be- 


146  UNITAEIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

came  the  general  agent,  while  there  were  ten  county- 
depositaries  in  Massachusetts,  four  in  New  Hampshire, 
three  in  Maine,  and  one  each  in  Connecticut,  New  York 
City,  Philadelphia,  Charleston,  and  Washhagton.*  For 
a  number  of  years  the  tracts  were  devoted  to  doctrinal 
subjects.  Several  of  Channing's  ablest  sermons  and 
addresses  were  first  printed  in  this  form.  Among  the 
other  contributors  to  the  first  series  were  the  three 
Wares,  Orville  Dewey,  Joseph  Tuckerman,  James 
Walker,  George  Ripley,  Samuel  J.  May,  John  G.  Pal- 
frey, Ezra  S.  Gannett,  Samuel  Gilman,  George  R. 
Noyes,  William  G.  Eliot,  Andrew  P.  Peabody,  F.  A. 
Farley,  James  Freeman  Clarke,  S.  G.  Bulfinch,  George 
Putnam,  Joseph  Allen,  Frederic  H.  Hedge,  Edward  B. 
Hall,  George  E.  Ellis,  Thomas  B.  Fox,  Charles  T. 
Brooks,  J.  H.  Morison,  Henry  W.  Bellows,  WilHam 
H.  Furness,  John  Cordner,  Chandler  Robbins,  Augus- 
tus Woodbury,  and  Wilham  R.  Alger.  Ten  or  twelve 
tracts  were  issued  yearly,  those  of  the  year  having  a 
consecutive  page  numbering,  so  that,  in  fact,  they 
appeared  in  the  form  of  a  monthly  periodical,  each 
tract   bearing  the   date  of   its   publication,   and  being 

*  The  depositaries  in  Massachusetts  were  at  Salem,  Concord,  Hingham, 
Plymouth,  Yarmouth,  Cambridge,  Worcester,  Northampton,  Springfield, 
and  Greenfield ;  in  New  Hampshire,  at  Concord,  Portsmouth,  Keene,  and 
Amherst ;  in  Maine,  at  Hallowell,  Brunswick,  and  Eastport ;  and,  in  Con- 
necticut, at  Brooklyn.  In  1828  the  number  had  increased  to  twenty-five  in 
Massachusetts,  six  in  Maine,  seven  in  New  Hampshire,  one  in  Rhode  Island, 
four  in  New  York,  two  in  Pennsylvania,  and  two  in  Maryland.  At  the 
first  annual  meeting  of  the  Unitarian  Association  a  system  of  auxiliaries 
was  recommended,  which  was  inaugurated  the  next  year.  It  was  proposed 
to  oj^anize  an  auxiliary  to  the  Association  in  every  parish,  and  also  in  each 
county.  These  societies  came  rapidly  into  existence,  were  of  much  help  to 
the  Association  in  raising  money  and  in  distributing  its  tracts,  and  ener- 
getic efforts  were  made  on  the  part  of  the  officers  of  the  Association  to 
extend  their  number  and  influence.  They  continued  in  existence  for 
about  twenty  years,  and  gradually  disappeared.  They  numbered  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  when  most  prosperous. 


AMERICAN   UNITARIAN   ASSOCIATION  147 

sent  regularly  to  all  subscribers  to  the  Association.  In 
all,  three  hundred  tracts  appeared  in  this  form  in  the 
first  series,  making  twenty-six  volumes. 

For  nearly  half  a  century  none  of  the  tracts  of  the 
Association  were  published  for  free  distribution.  They 
were  issued  at  prices  ranging  from  two  to  ten  cents 
each,  according  to  the  size,  some  of  them  having  not 
more  than  ten  or  twelve  pages,  while  others  had  more 
than  a  hundred.  So  long  as  there  was  an  eagerness 
for  theological  reading,  and  an  earnest  intellectual  in- 
terest in  the  questions  which  divided  the  several  rehg- 
ious  bodies  of  the  country  from  each  other,  it  was  not 
difficult  to  sell  editions  of  from  3,000  to  10,000  copies 
of  all  the  tracts  published  by  the  Association.  From 
the  first,  however,  there  were  many  calls  for  tracts  for 
free  distribution.  To  meet  this  demand,  there  was 
formed  in  Boston,  by  a  number  of  yomig  men  during 
the  year  1827,  The  Unitarian  Book  and  Pamphlet 
Society,  for  "the  gratuitous  distribution  of  Unitarian 
publications  of  an  approved  character."  It  undertook 
especially  to  distribute  "such  publications  as  shall  be 
issued  by  the  American  Unitarian  Association  or  recom- 
mended by  it."  This  society  also  circulated  tracts 
printed  by  The  Christian  Register  and  The  Christian 
World,  the  call  for  such  publications  having  led  the 
publishers  of  these  periodicals  to  give  their  aid  in  meet- 
ing the  demand  for  pamphlets  on  theological  problems 
and  on  practical  religious  duties.  The  society  also 
distributed  Bibles  to  the  poor  of  the  city  and  in  more 
distant  country  places,  furnishing  them  to  missionaries 
and  others  who  would  undertake  work  of  this  kind. 
In  the  same  mamier  they  gave  away  large  numbers  of 
books,  their  list  for  1836  including  Scougal's  Life  of 


148  UNITAEIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

God  in  the  Soul  of  Man,  Ware's  Formation  of  the 
Christian  Character,  and  works  by  Worcester,  Channing, 
Wliitman,  and  Greenwood.  The  call  for  aid  was  con- 
siderable from  the  western  and  southern  states;  and 
books  were  sent  to  Havana,  New  Brunswick,  and  the 
Sandwich  Islands.  In  the  winter  of  1840-41  this 
society  was  reorganized,  an  urgent  appeal  was  made  to 
the  churches  for  an  increase  of  funds,  and  during  the 
next  few  years  its  work  was  large  and  important. 

;:  In  the  year  1848  was  begun  a  special  effort  for  the 
circulation  of  Unitarian  books,  on  the  part  of  The 
Book  and  Pamphlet  Society,  The  Society  for  Promot- 
ing Christian  Knowledge,  Piety,  and  Charity,  as  well 
as  by  the  Unitarian  Association.  In  that  year  the 
second  of  these  organizations  sent  out  circulars  to  263 
colleges  and  theological  schools,  offering  to  give  Unitar 
rian  books  to  those  desiring  to  receive  them ;  and  to  59 
of  these  institutions  assortments  of  books  worth  from 
two  dollars  to  one  hundred  dollars  were  forwarded.! 
The  first  request  came  from  the  Catholic  College  at 
Worcester,  and  the  last  from  the  Wisconsin  University 
at  Madison.  At  the  same  time  the  Association  was 
pressing  the  sale  and  free  distribution  of  the  Works 
and  the  Memoir  of  Dr.  Channing,  as  well  as  various 
books  by  Peabody,  Livermore,  Bartol,  and  others. 

The  Association  began  to  make  use  of  colporters 
about  the  year  1847.  The  next  year  it  had  two  young 
ministers  engaged  in  this  work,  and  by  1850  this  kind  of 
missionary  labor  had  increased  to  considerable  propor- 
tions. Especially  in  the  West  was  much  use  made  of  the 
colporter,  and  in  this  way  in  many  of  the  states  the  works 
of  Channing  were  sold  in  large  numbers.  By  these 
agents,  tracts  were  given  away  with  a  free  hand,  and 


AMERICAN   UNITARIAN   ASSOCIATION  149 

books  were  given  to  ministers  and  those  who  especially- 
needed  them.  The  Western  ministers,  almost  without 
exception,  served  as  colporters,  selhng  books  and  dis- 
tributing them  as  important  helps  to  tlieir  missionary- 
labors.  In  many  communities  zealous  laymen  took  part 
in  tliis  kind  of  service,  and  the  several  depositaries  of 
books  and  tracts  were  used  as  centres  from  which  col- 
porters and  others  could  draw  their  suj^phes.  As  early 
as  1835  a  general  depositary  had  been  established  in 
Cincinnati,  and   in  1849  one  was  opened  in    Chicago. 

The  Association  could  not  have  undertaken  any  work 
that  would  have  brought  in  a  larger  or  more  immediate 
return  in  the  way  of  religious  education  and  spiritual 
growth  than  this  of  the  publication  of  tracts  and  books. 
Previous  to  1850  a  doctrinal  sermon  was  rarely  preached 
in  a  Unitarian  church,  and  the  tracts  were  the  most  im- 
portant means  of  giving  to  the  members  of  estabhshed 
churches  a  knowledge  of  Unitarian  theology.  By  the 
same  means  many  other  persons  were  made  acquainted 
with  the  Unitarian  beliefs,  and  the  result  was  to  be  seen 
in  the  formation  of  churches  where  tracts  and  books  had 
been  largely  distributed.* 

The  work  of  domestic  missions  from  the  first  largely 
claimed  the  attention  of  the  Association,  and 
omes  ic    ^^  ^^^^  Q^g  ^£  ^l^g  chief    obiects  in  its  forma- 
Missions.  .  •" 

tion.     During  the  summer  of  1826  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Harvard  Divinity  School  were  sent  tlu'ough- 

*  During  the  first  twenty-five  years  of  the  Association,  272  tracts  of 
the  fii'St  series  were  issued,  and  also  29  miscellaneous  tracts  and  37  re- 
ports. The  number  of  copies  published  Avas  estimated  aa  1,764,000,  mak- 
ing an  average  of  70,(X)0  each  year.  Of  these  tracts,  103  were  practical, 
and  ,93  doctrinal ;  and,  of  the  doctrinal,  one-half  were  on  the  Divine 
Unity,  one-sixth  on  the  Atonement,  ten  on  Regeneration,  five  on  the  Ordi- 
nances, four  on  Human  Nature,  three  on  Retribution,  and  two  on  the  Holy 
Spirit.  In  the  Monthly  Journal,  May,  1800,  Vol.  I.  pp.  230-240,  were 
given  the  titles  and  authors. 


150  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

out  New  England  to  gather  information,  and  to  preach 
where  opportunity  offered.  The  special  object  was  to 
make  ministers  and  congregations  acquainted  with  the 
purposes  of  the  Association.  It  was  found  that  there 
was  much  opposition  to  it,  and  that  in  many  parishes 
there  existed  no  desire  to  have  its  mission  extended. 

Persons  of  all  shades  of  behef  were  connected  with 
many  of  the  liberal  parishes,  some  of  the  churches  not 
having  as  yet  ceased  their  relations  with  the  towns  in 
which  they  were  located;  and  the  ministers  were  not 
wilHng  to  have  theological  questions  brought  to  the  at- 
tention of  their  congregations.  "The  great  objection 
everywhere  seems  to  be,"  reported  one  of  the  young 
men,  who  had  travelled  through  many  of  the  towns  of 
central  Massachusetts,  "  that  the  clergymen  do  not  hke 
to  awaken  party  spirit.  People  will  go  on  quietly  per- 
forming all  external  duties  of  religion  without  asking 
themselves  if  they  are  listening  to  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity  or  not ;  but  the  moment  you  wish  to  act,  they 
call  up  all  their  old  prejudices,  and  take  a  very  firm 
stand.  This  necessarily  creates  division  and  dissen- 
sion, and  renders  the  situation  of  the  minister  very 
uncomfortable."  *  The  ministers  did  not  preach  on 
theological  subjects ;  and,  while  they  were  liberal  them- 
selves, they  had  not  instructed  their  parishioners  in 
such  a  manner  that  they  followed  in  the  same  path 
of  thinking  which  then*  leaders  had  travelled. 

It  was  evident,  therefore,  that  there  was  work  enough 
in  New  England  for  the  Association  to  accomplish,  and 
such  as  would  fully  tax  its  resources.!     It  had  turned 

*Froin  a  letter  of  Samuel  K.  Lothrop,  afterward  minister  of  the 
Brattle  (Street  Churcli, 

t  The  following-  letter  is  of  interest,  not  only  because  of  the  name  of  the 
writer,  but  because  it  gives  a  very  good  idea  of  the  work  done  by  the  first 


AMERICAN    UNITARIAN   ASSOCIATION  151 

its  eyes  toward  the  West  and  South,  however ;  and  it 
was  not  willing  to  leave  these  fields  unoccupied.  In 
1836  the  general  secretary,  Charles  Briggs,  spent  eight 
months  in  these  regions;  and  he  found  everywhere 
large  opportunities  for  the  spread  of  Unitarianism. 
Promising  openings  were  found  at  Erie,  Cleveland, 
Toledo,  Detroit,  Marietta,  Tremont,  Jacksonville, 
Memphis,  and  Nashville,  in  which  villages  or  cities 
churches  were  soon  after  formed.  It  was  reported  at 
this  time  that  there  was  hardly  a  town  in  the  West 
where  there  were  not   Unitarians,  or  in  which  it  was 

missionaries  of  the  Association.  It  is  dated  at  Northampton,  Mass.,  Octo- 
ber 9,  1827.  "  My  dear  Sir, —  I  desigiied  when  I  left  you  to  send  some  ear- 
lier notice  of  my  doings  than  this  ;  but  as  it  has  not  been  in  my  power  to  say 
much,  I  have  said  nothing.  Mr.  Hall  is  preparing  an  account  of  his  own 
missions,  but  thinks  it  not  worth  while  to  send  it  to  you  till  it  is  completed. 
The  first  Sabbath  after  my  arrival  I  preached  here.  The  second,  for  the 
convenience  of  the  Greenfield  people,  an  exchange  was  made,  and  I  went  to 
Deerfield,  and  Dr.  Willard  went  to  Colrain.  There  were  some  unfavorable 
circumstances  which  operated  to  diminish  the  audience,  but  they  were  glad 
to  see  and  hear  him.  The  fourth  Sabbath  (which  followed  the  meeting  of 
the  Franklin  Association)  I  preached  at  Greenfield,  and  Mr.  Bailey  went  to 
Colrain.  I  enclose  his  journal.  The  fifth  Sabbath  at  Deerfield,  and  Dr. 
Willard  at  Adams  in  Berkshire.  I  have  not  seen  him  since  his  return.  I 
have  told  the  Franklin  Association  I  would  remain  here  till  November,  and 
in  consequence  have  been  thus  put  to  and  fro,  but  expect  to  preach  the  three 
coming  Sundays  in  Northampton.  I  have  ofEered  my  services  to  preach 
lectures  in  the  week,  but  circumstances  have  made  it  inexpedient  in  towns 
where  it  was  proposed.  The  clergymen  are  very  glad  to  see  me,  having 
feared  that  the  mission  was  indefinitely  postponed.  They  find  the  better  sort 
of  people  in  most  of  the  towns  inquisitive  and  favorably  disposed  to  views  of 
liberal  Christianity.  It  is  a  singular  fact,  of  which  I  hear  frequent  mention 
made,  that  in  elections  Unitarians  are  almost  universally  preferred  when  the 
suffrage  is  by  ballot,  and  rejected  when  given  by  hand  ballot.  In  Franklin 
county  it  is  thought  there  is  a  majority  of  Unitarians.  I  have  been  much 
disappointed  in  being  obliged  to  lead  a  vagrant  life,  as  you  know  I  came 
hither  with  different  expectations,  and  hoped  for  leisure  and  retirement 
for  study,  which  I  needed  much.  But  it  would  not  do  for  a  missionary 
to  be  stiff-necked,  and  so  I  liave  been  a  shuttle.  I  have  promised  to  go  to 
New  Bedford  the  first  three  Sundays  of  November.  With  great  regard, 
your  friend  and  servant,  R.  Waldo  Emerson."  From  this  letter  it  will 
be  seen  that  Emerson  supplied  the  pulpits  at  Northampton  and  Greenfield 
in  order  that  the  ministers  in  those  towns  might  preach  elsewhere. 


152  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

not  possible  by  the  right  kind  of  effort  to  establish  a 
Unitarian  church. 

As  a  result  of  the  interest  awakened  by  the  tour  of 
the  general  secretary,  fourteen  missionaries  were  put 
into  the  field  in  1837.  In  1838  twenty-three  mission- 
aries visited  eleven  states,  including  New  York,  Penn- 
sylvania, Ohio,  Michigan,  Illinois,  Missouri,  Kentucky, 
Alabama,  and  Georgia.*  They  were  men  of  experi- 
ence in  parish  labors,  but  they  did  not  go  out  to  the 
new  country  to  remain  there  permanently.  They  at- 
tracted large  congregations,  however,  formed  several 
societies  which  promised  to  be  permanent,  administered 
the  ordinances,  established  Sunday-schools,  and  did 
much  to  strengthen  the  churches.  In  1839  seven 
preachers  were  sent  into  the  west,  and  at  the  next  an- 
niversary there  was  an  urgent  call  made  by  the  Asso- 
ciation for  fmids  with  which  to  establish  a  permanent 
missionary  agent  in  the  field.  Something  more  was 
needed  than  a  few  Massachusetts  ministers  preaching 
from  town  to  town  with  no  purpose  of  locating  with 
any  of  the  churches  they  helped  to  organize.  Ministers 
for  the  new  churches  were  urgently  demanded,  but  few 
men  from  New  England  were  willing  to  remove  to  the 

*  Fourteenth  Annual  Report,  14.  "They  were  the  following:  Rev. 
George  Ripley,  Boston  ;  Rev.  A.  B.  Muzzey,  Cambridgeport ;  Rev.  Samuel 
Barrett,  Boston ;  Rev.  Mr.  Green,  East  Cambridge  ;  Rev.  Calvin  Lincoln, 
Fitchburg ;  Rev.  E.  B.  WUlson,  Westford  ;  Dr.  James  Kendall,  Plymouth  ; 
Rev.  George  W.  Hosmer,  Buffalo ;  Rev.  Warren  Burton,  Dr.  Thompson, 
Salem;  Rev.  J.  P.  B.  Storer,  Syracuse ;  Rev.  Charles  Babbidge,  Pepper- 
ell  ;  Rev.  John  M.  Myrick,  Walpole  ;  Rev.  J.  D.  Swett,  Boston ;  Rev. 
A.  D.  Jones,  Brighton ;  Rev.  Henry  Emmons,  Meadville ;  Rev.  J.  F. 
Clarke,  Louisville  ;  Rev.  F.  D.  Huntington,  Rev.  B.  F.  Barrett,  Rev.  G.  F. 
Simmons,  Rev.  C.  Nightingale,  Mr.  Wilson,  of  the  Divinity  School ;  and 
Mr.  C.  P.  Cranch.  Among  the  places  where  they  preached  are  Houlton, 
Me. ;  Syracuse,  Lockport,  Lewiston,  Pekin,  and  Vernon,  N.Y. ;  Philadel- 
phia and  Erie,  Pa. ;  Marietta,  Zanesville,  Cleveland,  and  Toledo,  Ohio ; 
Detroit,  Mich. ;  Owensburg,  Ky. ;  Chicago,  Peoria,  Tremont,  Jacksonville, 
Hillsboro,  and  several  other  places  in  Dlinois." 


AMERICAN    UNITARIAN   ASSOCIATION  153 

west;  and,  though  recruits  came  from  the  orthodox 
churches,  this  source  of  supply  was  not  sufficient. 

The  repeated  calls  made  for  larger  resources  with 
which  to  carry  on  the  work  of  domestic  missions 
resulted  in  meetings  held  in  Boston  during  the  year 
1841,  at  wliich  pledges  were  made  to  a  fund  of  $10,000 
yearly  for  five  years,  to  be  used  for  missionary  purposes. 
This  sum  was  secured  in  1843  and  the  next  four  years, 
so  that  larger  aid  was  given  to  missionary  activities 
and  to  the  building  of  churches.  At  the  annual  meet- 
ing of  1849  special  attention  was  given  to  the  subject 
of  domestic  missions,  and  plans  were  devised  for  largely 
extending  all  the  activities  in  this  direction.  Much  in- 
terest was  taken  in  the  western  work  during  the  follow- 
ing years,  and  slowly  new  churches  came  into  existence. 
In  1849  Rev.  Edward  P.  Bond  was  sent  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, where  a  number  of  New  England  people  had  held 
lay  services  and  formed  a  church,  and  in  a  few  years  a 
strong  society  had  grown  up  in  that  city.  Mr.  Bond 
also  went  to  the  Sandwich  Islands ;  but  he  was  not  able 
to  open  a  mission  there,  owing  to  ill-health.  In  the 
South  the  work  languished,  largely  owing  to  the  growth 
of  anti-slavery  sentiment  in  the  North,  with  wliich 
Unitarians  were  generally  in  sympathy. 

From  1830  to  1850  the  Unitarians  were  confronted 
by  the  greatest  opportunity  which  has  ever  opened  to 
them  for  missionary  activities.  The  vast  region  of  the 
middle  west  was  in  a  formative  state,  the  people 
were  everywhere  receptive  to  liberal  influences,  other 
churches  had  not  been  firmly  established,  and  there 
was  urgent  demand  for  leadership  of  a  progressive  and 
rational  kind.  Here  has  come  to  be  the  controlling 
centre  of   American   life, —  in  politics,   education,   and 


154  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMEEICA 

social  power.  A  few  of  the  leaders  saw  the  opportu- 
nity, but  the  churches  were  not  ready  to  respond  to 
their  appeals. 

The  work  accomplished  by  the  Association  during 
the  first  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  of  its  existence,  the 
period  reviewed  in  this  chapter,  was  small  compared 
with  the  opportunity  and  with  the  wishes  of  those  who 
most  had  at  heart  the  interests  for  the  promotion  of 
which  it  was  established.  Yet  there  was  wanting  in  no 
year  encouragement  for  its  friends  or  something  accom- 
plished that  cheered  them  to  larger  efforts.  In  1850, 
at  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary,  historical  addresses 
were  delivered  by  Samuel  Osgood,  John  G.  Palfrey, 
Henry  W.  Bellows,  Edward  E.  Hale,  and  Lant  Carpen- 
ter ;  and  a  hopeful  review  of  the  labors  of  the  Associa- 
tion was  presented  by  the  executive  committee.  First 
of  all  its  efforts  had  been  directed  to  securing  religious 
liberty.  Then  came  its  philanthropic  enterprises,  and 
finally  its  missionary  labors.  During  the  quarter  of  a 
century  one  hundred  churches  that  were  weak  and 
struggling,  owing  to  their  situation  in  towns  of  decreas- 
ing population  or  in  cities  not  congenial  to  their  teach- 
ings, had  been  aided.  More  than  fifty  vigorous 
churches  had  been  planted  in  the  west  and  south, 
nearly  all  of  them  helped  in  some  way  by  the  Associa- 
tion. There  was  a  renewed  call  for  strong  men  to 
enter  the  missionary  field,  and  it  was  uttered  more 
urgently  at  this  time  than  ever  before.  Special  pride 
was  expressed  in  the  high  quality  of  the  religious  writ- 
ings produced  by  Unitarians,  and  in  the  nobleness  of 
the  men  and  women  who  had  been  connected  with  the 
denominational  activities.* 

*  For  a  most  interesting:  account  of  the  growth  of  the  denomination,  see 
The  Christian  Examiner  for  May,  1854,  Ivi.  397,  article  by  John  Parkman. 


VII. 

THE   PBKIOD   OF   RADICALISM. 

Before  the  controversy  with  the  Orthodox  had 
come  to  its  end,  a  somewhat  similar  conflict  of  opinions 
arose  within  the  Unitarian  ranks.  The  same  influences 
that  had  led  the  Unitarians  away  from  the  Orthodox 
were  now  causing  the  more  radical  Unitarians  to  ad- 
vance beyond  their  more  conservative  neighbors.  Eng- 
Hsh  philosophy  had  given  direction  to  the  Unitarian 
movement  in  America;  and  now  German  philosophy 
was  helping  to  develop  what  has  been  designated  as 
transcendentalism,  which  largely  found  expression 
witliin  the  Unitarian  body.  Beginning  -with  1835, 
the  more  liberal  Unitarians  were  increasingly  active. 
Hedge's  *  Club  held  its  meetings,  The  Dial  was  pub- 
lished. Brook  Farm  lived  its  brief  day  of  a  reformed 
humanity,  Parker  began  his  preaching  in  Boston, 
Emerson  was  lecturing  and  publishing,  and  the  more 
radical  younger  Unitarian  preachers  were  bravely  speak- 
ing for  a  religion  natural  to  man  and  authenticated  by 
the  inner  witness  of  the  truth. 

The  agitation  thus  started  went  on  its  way  with 
many  varying  manifestations,  and  with  a  growing  in- 

•  Usually  known  as  the  Transcendental  Club,  sometimes  as  The  SjTn- 
poaium.  It  was  started  in  1836  by  Emerson,  Ripley,  and  Hedge,  and 
met  at  the  houses  of  the  members  to  discuss  philosophical  and  literary  sub- 
jects. It  was  called  Hedge's  Club  because  it  met  when  Rev.  F.  H.  Hedge 
canie  to  Boston  from  Bangor,  where  he  was  settled  in  1835.  It  also  in- 
cluded Clarke,  Francis,  Alcott,  Dwight,  W.  H.  Channing,  Bartol,  Very, 
Margaret  Fuller,  and  Elizabeth  P.  Peabody. 


156  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

cisiveness  of  statement  and  earnestness  of  feeling. 
The  new  teachings  gained  the  interest  and  the  faith  of 
the  young  in  increasing  numbers.  In  pulpits  and  on 
the  platform,  in  newspapers  and  magazines,  in  essays 
and  addresses,  tliis  new  teaching  was  uttered  for  the 
world's  hearing.  The  breeze  thus  created  seems  to 
have  groAvn  into  a  gale,  but  The  Christian  Register 
and  The  Clu'istian  Examiner  gave  almost  no  indication 
that  it  had  blown  their  way.  In  the  official  actions 
and  in  the  publications  of  the  Unitarian  Association 
there  was  no  word  indicating  that  the  discussion  had 
come  to  its  knowledge.  All  at  once,  however,  in  1853, 
it  came  into  the  greatest  prominence,  as  the  result  of 
action  taken  by  the  Unitarian  Association ;  and,  thence- 
forth, for  a  quarter  of  a  century  it  was  never  absent  as 
a  disturbing  element  in  the  mtellectual  and  religious 
life  of  the  Unitarian  body. 

The  early  Unitarians  were  believers  in  the  supernat- 
ural and  in  the  miracles  of  the  New  Testament.  They 
accepted  without  question  the  ideas  on  this  subject  that 
had  been  entertained  by  all  Protestants  from  the  days 
of  Luther  and  Calvin.  When  Theodore  Parker  and 
the  transcendentalists  began  to  question  the  miraculous 
foundations  of  Christianity,  many  Unitarians  were 
quite  unprepared  to  accept  their  theories.  They  be- 
lieved that  the  miracles  of  the  New  Testament  afford 
the  only  evidence  for  the  truthfulness  of  Christianity. 
This  issue  was  distinctly  stated  in  the  twenty-eighth 
annual  report  of  the  Unitarian  Association  for  1853, 
wherein  an  attempt  was  made  to  defend  the  Unitarian 
body  against  the  charge  of  infidehty  and  rationalism 
made  by  the  Orthodox.  The  teachings  of  the  transcen- 
dentalists and  radicals  had  been  attributed  to  all  Uni- 


THE    PERIOD    OF   RADICALISM  157 

tarians,  and  the  leaders  of  the  Association  felt  that  it 
was  time  to  define  explicitly  the  position  they  occupied. 
Therefore  they  said,  in  the  report  of  that  year :  — 
"  We  desire,  m  a  denominational  capacity,  to  assert 
our  profound  belief  in  the  Divine  origin,  the  Divine 
authority,  the  Divine  sanctions,  of  the  religion  of  Jesus 
Chiist.  This  is  the  basis  of  our  associated  action. 
We  desire  openly  to  declare  our  belief  as  a  denomina- 
tion, so  far  as  it  can  be  officially  represented  by  the 
American  Unitarian  Association,  that  God,  moved  by 
his  own  love,  did  raise  up  Jesus  to  aid  in  our  redemp- 
tion from  sin,  did  by  him  pour  a  fresh  flood  of  purify- 
ing life  through  the  withered  veins  of  humanity  and 
along  the  corrupted  channels  of  the  world,  and  is,  by 
his  religion,  forever  sweeping  the  nations  with  regen- 
erating gales  from  heaven,  and  visiting  the  hearts  of 
men  with  celestial  sohcitations.  We  receive  the  teach- 
ings of  Christ,  separated  from  all  foreign  admixtures 
and  later  accretions,  as  infalhble  truth  from  God."  * 
At  the  same  meeting  a  resolution  was  adopted,  "  with- 
out a  dissenting  voice,"  which  declared  that  "  the  Divine 
authority  of  the  Gospel,  as  founded  on  a  special  and 
miraculous  interposition  of  God,  is  the  basis  of  the 
action  of  the  Association. "  f 

*  Twenty-eighth  Report  of  the  American  Unitarian  Association,  22. 

tibid.,  30.  For  other  statements  made  at  this  time  see  pp.  22  and  26 
of  this  report ;  Quarterly  Journal,  I.  44,  228,  243,  275,  333 ;  and  0.  B. 
Frothingham's  Transcendentalism  in  New  England,  123.  John  Gorham 
Palfrey  said  (Twenty-eighth  Report,  31)  that  "the  evidence  of  Christianity 
is  identical  with  the  eNndence  of  the  miraculous  character  of  Jesus,"  and 
that  "  his  miraculous  powers  were  the  highest  evidence  that  he  came  from 
God."  Parker  replied  to  this  report  of  the  Association  in  his  Friendly 
Letter  to  the  Executive  Committee.  Of  this  report  John  W.  Chadwick 
has  .said  that  it  is  "  the  most  curious,  not  to  say  amusing,  document  in  our 
denominational  archives."  See  The  Organization  of  our  Liberty,  Chris- 
tian Register,  July  19,  1900. 


158  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

As  these  statements  indicate,  the  majority  of  Unita- 
rians were  very  conservative  at  this  time  in  their  the- 
ological position  and  methods.  They  were  nearly  as 
hesitating  and  reticent  in  their  beliefs  as  Unitarians  as 
they  had  been  while  connected  with  the  older  Congrega- 
tional body.  The  reason  for  this  was  the  same  in  the 
later  as  in  the  earlier  period,  that  a  predominant  social 
conservatism  held  them  aloof  from  all  that  was  intellect- 
ually aggressive  and  theologically  rationalistic.  They 
had  outgrown  Tritheism,  as  it  had  been  taught  for  gen- 
erations in  New  England;  they  had  refused  to  accept 
the  fatalism  that  had  been  taught  in  the  name  of  Cal- 
vin, and  they  had  rejected  the  ecclesiastical  tjrrannies 
that  had  been  imposed  on  men  by  the  New  England 
theology.  But  they  had  advanced  only  a  little  way  in 
accepting  modern  thought  as  a  basis  of  faith,  and  in 
seeking  a  rational  interpretation  of  the  relations  of  God 
and  man.  Their  belief  in  a  superhuman  Christ  was 
theoretically  weaker,  but  practically  stronger,  than  that 
of  the  churches  from  which  they  had  withdrawn ;  while 
the  grounds  of  that  belief  were  in  the  one  instance  the 
same  as  in  the  other. 

The  activities  of  the  Unitarian  Association  were  largely 
mterfered    with    by    these    differences    of 

Depression  in      opinion.     The  more  conservative  churches 
Denominational  .,,.       .  ,   ..     ,,•,     , 

Activities  were  unwilnng  to  contribute  to  its  treasury 

because  it  did   not   exclude    the  radicals 

from  all  connection  with  it.      The  radicals,  on  the  other 

hand,  withheld  their  gifts  because,  while  they  were  not 

excommmiicated,  they  were   regarded  with  suspicion  by 

many  of  the  churches,  and   did   not  have  the   fullest 

recognition  from  the  Association. 

This  controversy  was  emphasized  by  that  arising  from 


THE   PEEIOD   OF   RADICALISM  159 

the  reform  movements  of  the  day,  especially  the  agita- 
tion against  slavery.  Almost  without  exception  the 
radicals  belonged  to  the  anti-slavery  party,  while  the 
conservative  churches  were  generally  opposed  to  this 
agitation.  As  a  result,  anti-slavery  efforts  became  a 
serious  cause  of  discord  in  the  Unitarian  churches,  and 
helped  to  cripple  the  resources  of  the  Association. 
When,  as  the  climax  of  all,  the  civil  war  came  on, 
the  Association  was  brought  to  a  condition  of  almost 
desperate  poverty.  Not  more  than  twoscore  churches 
contributed  to  its  treasury,  and  it  was  obliged  to  cur- 
tail its  expenses  in  every  direction.* 

Up  to  the  year  1865  the  Unitarians  had  not  been  effi- 
ciently organized ;  and  they  had  developed  very  imper- 
fectly what  has  been  called  denominational  conscious- 
ness, or  the  capacity  for  co-operative  efforts.  The 
Unitarian  Association  was  not  a  representative  body, 
and  it  depended  wholly  upon  individuals  for  its  mem- 
bership. Not  more  than  one-fourth  or,  at  the  largest, 
one-third  of  the  Unitarian  churches  were  represented 
in  its  support  and  in  its  activities.  There  were  Uni- 
tarian churches,  and  there  was  a  Unitarian  movement ; 
but  such  a  thing  as  a  Unitarian  denomination,  in  any 
clearly  defined  meaning  of  the  words,  did  not  exist. 
This  fact  was  explained  by  James  Freeman  Clarke  in 
1863,  when  he  said  that  "the  traditions  of   the    Uni- 

*  In  1854  the  receipts  from  all  sources  for  the  year  preceding,  except 
from  sales  of  books  and  interest  on  investments,  was  $4,267.32.  For  the 
next  two  years  there  was  a  rapid  gain,  the  sum  reported  in  1856  being  $11,- 
615.JK) ;  but  there  was  a  slight  decrease  the  next  year,  and  the  financial  panic 
of  1857  brought  the  donations  down  to  $4,602.38,  the  amount  reported  at  the 
annual  meeting  of  1858.  Then  there  was  a  steady  gain  until  the  civil  war 
began,  after  which  the  contributions  were  small,  the  general  donations  be- 
ing only  $3,056.03  in  186'!,  which  stim  was  brought  up  to  $5,547.73  by  con- 
tributions for  special  purposes,  more  than  one-third  of  the  whole  being  for 
the  Army  Fund. 


160  UNITAKIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

tarian  body  are  conservative  and  timid."  *  How  this 
attitude  affected  the  Unitarian  Association  was  point- 
edly stated  by  Mr.  Clarke,  after  several  years  of  ex- 
perience as  its  secretary.  "  The  Unitarian  churches  in 
Boston,"  he  wrote,  "see  no  reason  for  diffusing  their 
faith.  They  treat  it  as  a  luxury  to  be  kept  for  them- 
selves, as  they  keep  Boston  Common.  The  Boston 
churches,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  noble  and  gen- 
erous examples,  have  not  done  a  great  deal  for  Uni- 
tarian missions.  I  have  heard  it  said  that  they  do  not 
wish  to  make  Unitarianism  too  common.  The  church 
in  Brattle  street  contains  wealthy  and  generous  per- 
sons who  have  given  largely  to  humane  objects  and 
to  all  public  purposes ;  but  we  believe  that,  even  while 
their  pastor  was  president  of  the  Unitarian  Association, 
they  never  gave  a  dollar  to  that  Association  for  its  mis- 
sionary objects.  The  society  in  King's  Chapel  was  the 
first  in  the  United  States  which  professed  Unitarianism. 
It  is  so  wealthy  that  it  might  give  ten  or  twenty  thou- 
sand dollars  a  year  to  missionary  objects  without  feeling 
it.  It  has  always  been  very  liberal  to  its  ministers,  to 
all  philanthropic  and  benevolent  objects,  and  its  mem- 
bers have  probably  given  away  millions  of  dollars  for 
public  and  social  uses ;  but  it  never  gives  anything  to 
diffuse  Unitarianism."  f 

Dr.  Samuel  K.  Lothrop  continued  as  the  president  of 
the  Unitarian  Association  until  the  annual  meeting  of 
1858,  when  Dr.  Edward  Brooks  Hall  was  elected  to 
that  position  for  one  year.  After  short  pastorates  in 
Northampton  and  Cincinnati,  Dr.  Hall  had  been  settled 
over  the  First  Church  in  Providence  in  1832,  which  posi- 

*Tlie  Christian  Register,  October  17,  1863. 
t  The  Monthly  Journal,  I.  350. 


THE    PERIOD   OF    RADICALISM  161 

tion  he  held  until  his  death  in  1866.  At  the  annual 
meeting  of  1859  Dr.  Frederic  H.  Hedge  was  elected 
president,  and  he  was  twice  re-elected.  His  interest  in 
the  Association  was  active,  and  he  often  spoke  at  tlie  pub- 
lic meetings.  One  of  the  ablest  thinkers  and  theolo- 
gians that  has  appeared  among  Unitarians  in  this  coun- 
try, he  always  rightly  estimated  the  practical  activities  of 
organized  rehgious  movements.  He  was  succeeded  in 
1862  by  Dr.  Rufus  P.  Stebbins,  who  held  the  office  for 
three  years.  After  a  settlement  in  Leominster,  Dr. 
Stebbins  was  the  first  president  of  the  Meadville  Theo- 
logical School  from  1844  to  1856.  Then  followed  a 
pastorate  in  Woburn,  after  which  he  went  to  Ithaca  and 
opened  a  mission  for  the  students  of  Cornell  University, 
which  grew  into  the  Unitarian  church  in  that  town. 
From  1877  he  was  pastor  at  Newton  Centre  until  his 
death  in  1885. 

The  secretary  of  the  Association  from  1850  to  1853 
was  Rev.  Calvin  Lincoln,  who  had  been  settled  in 
Fitchburg  for  thirty-one  years,  and  who  was  the  min- 
ister of  the  First  Church  in  Hingham  from  1855  until 
his  death  in  1881.  He  was  succeeded  in  1853  by  Rev. 
Henry  A.  Miles,  who  continued  in  office  until  1859. 
Dr.  Miles  was  settled  in  Hallowell  and  Lowell  before 
serving  the  Association,  and  in  Long  wood  and  Hing- 
ham (Third  Parish)  afterward.  His  httle  book  on  The 
Birth  of  Jesus  has  gained  him  recognition  as  a  theo- 
logian of  ability  and  a  critic  of  independent  judgment. 
For  three  years  Rev.  James  Freeman  Clarke  was  the 
secretary;  and  in  1861  he  was  succeeded  by  George  W. 
Fox,  who  served  in  that  capacity  until  the  annual 
meeting  of  1865.  Mr.  Fox  wrote  the  annual  reports 
from  1862  to  1864,  and   efficiently  performed  all  the 


162  UNITAEIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

duties  of  the  secretary  which  could  devolve  upon  a  lay- 
man, with  the  exception  of  editing  The  Montlily  Jom-- 
nal,  a  task  which  was  continued  by  James  Freeman 
Clarke.* 

In  spite  of  its  restricted  income  during  tliis  troubled 
period,  the  Association  was  able,  owing  to 
its  invested  funds,!  to  increase  its  publish- 
ing operations  to  a  considerable  extent.  The  number 
of  tracts  published,  however,  was  much  smaller ;  and 
their  monthly  issue  was  discontinued  in  order  to  pub- 
lish The  Quarterly  Journal  of  the  American  Unitarian 
Association,  the  first  number  of  which  appeared  in 
October,  1853.  During  the  first  year  each  number 
contained  ninety-six  pages,  which  were  increased  to  one 
hundred  and  ninety-two  in  1854,  but  reduced  to  one 
hundred  and  thirty  the  following  year.  In  1860  this 
publication  became  The  Monthly  Journal ;  and  it  was 
continued  until  December,  1869,  each  number  contam- 
mg  forty-eight  pages.  The  Journal  was  sent  to  all 
subscribers  to  the  funds  of  the  Association,  to  life 
members,  to  all  churches  contributing  to  its  funds,  as 
well  as  to  regular  subscribers.  Its  circulation  in  1855 
was  7,000,  and  it  increased  to  15,000  before  it  was  dis- 
continued. It  was  used  largely,  however,  for  free  dis- 
tribution as  a  missionary  document. 

*  Mr.  Fox  entered  the  employ  of  the  Association  in  1855  as  a  clerk,  and 
then  he  became  the  assistant  of  the  secretary  by  the  appointment  of  the 
directors.  From  ISGi  to  the  present  time  he  has  served  as  the  assistant 
secretary.  His  services  have  been  invaluable  to  the  Association  in  many 
ways,  because  of  his  diligence,  fidelity,  unfailing  devotion  to  its  interests, 
and  loyalty  to  the  Unitarian  cause. 

t  The  beginning  of  a  general  fund  seems  to  have  been  made  in  1835,  and 
was  secured  by  special  subscriptions  for  the  purpose  of  paying  the  salary 
of  a  general  secretary  or  missionary  agent.  The  treasurer  reported  in  18.S6 
that  during  the  previous  year  S2,i08.37  had  been  collected  for  this  pur- 
pose. 


THE   PERIOD   OF   RADICALISM  163 

The  Journal  served  an  important  purpose  during  the 
seventeen  years  of  its  publication,  as  a  means  of  bring- 
ing the  Association  into  touch  with  its  constituency 
and  of  making  the  people  acquainted  with  its  work. 
It  published  the  records  of  the  meetings  of  the  execu- 
tive committee  as  well  as  of  the  annual  meetmg,  it  gave 
numerous  extracts  from  the  correspondence  of  the  sec- 
retary, it  contained  the  news  of  the  churches,  and  all 
the  denominational  activities  were  kept  constantly 
before  its  readers.  In  its  pages  were  frequently  pub- 
lished biographies  of  prominent  Unitarians,  notable 
addi'esses  were  printed,  sermons  appeared  frequently, 
and  able  theological  articles.  During  the  editorship  of 
James  Freeman  Clarke  it  contained  the  successive 
chapters  of  his  Orthodoxy :  Its  Truths  and  Errors.  It 
also  printed  one  or  more  chapters  of  Alger's  History  of 
the  Doctrine  of  the  Future  Life.  The  secretary  of  the 
Association  was  its  editor,  and  he  made  it  at  once  a 
theological  tract  and  a  denominational  newspaper. 

The  increase  in  demand  for  Unitarian  tracts  and 
books  had  been  so  large  that  early  in  1854  the  execu- 
tive committee  of  the  Association  decided  that  a  special 
effort  should  be  made  to  meet  it.  They  called  a  meet- 
ing in  Freeman  Place  Chapel  on  the  afternoon  of  Feb- 
ruary 1,  which  was  largely  attended.  An  address  was 
given  by  Dr.  Lothrop,  the  president,  who  said  that 
Channing's  works  had  reached  a  sale  of  100,000  copies, 
and  Ware's  Formation  of  Christian  Character  12,000, 
and  that  there  was  an  urgent  call  for  Hberal  works  that 
would  meet  the  spiritual  needs  of  the  age.  A  large 
number  of  prominent  ministers  and  laymen  addressed 
the  meeting,  and  expressed  themselves  as  thorouglily 
in   sympathy  with  its  objects.     A   committee  was  ap- 


164  UNITAKIANISM    IN    AJMERICA 

pointed  to  consider  the  proposition  made  by  Dr.  George 
E.  Ellis,  that  a  fund  of  |)50,000  be  raised  for  the  publi- 
cation of  books.  This  committee  reported  a  month 
later  through  its  chairman,  George  B.  Emerson,  in 
favor  of  the  project ;  and  it  was  voted  that  the  money 
should  be  raised.  It  was  easier  to  pass  this  vote,  how- 
ever, than  to  secure  the  money  from  the  churches ;  for 
in  1859,  after  five  years  of  efifort,  the  sum  collected  was 
only  $28,163.33. 

The  money  secured,  however,  was  immediately  util- 
ized in  the  publication  of  a  number  of  books.  Three 
series  of  works  were  undertaken,  the  first  of  these  being 
The  Theological  I^ibrary,  in  which  were  published 
Selections  from  the  Works  of  Dr.  Charming ;  Wilson's 
Unitarian  Principles  Confirmed  by  Trinitarian  Testi- 
monies ;  a  one-volume  edition  of  Norton's  Statement  of 
Reasons  for  not  Believing  the  Doctrines  of  Trinitarians 
concerning  the  Nature  of  God  and  the  Person  of 
Christ,  with  a  memoir  of  the  author  by  Dr.  William 
Newell ;  a  volume  of  Theological  Essays  selected  from 
the  writings  of  Jowett,  Tholuck,  Guizot,  Roland  Will- 
iams, and  others,  and  edited  by  George  R.  Noyes ;  and 
Martineau's  Studies  of  Clu"istianity,  a  series  of  miscel- 
laneous papers,  edited  by  William  R.  Alger.  The 
Devotional  Library,  the  second  of  the  three  series, 
included  The  Altar  at  Home,  a  series  of  prayers,  col- 
lects, and  litanies  for  family  devotions,  written  by  a 
large  number  of  the  leading  Unitarian  ministers,  and 
edited  by  Dr.  Miles,  the  secretary  of  the  Association ; 
Clarke's  Christian  Doctrine  of  Prayer;  Thomas  T. 
Stone's  The  Rod  and  the  Staff,  a  transcendentalist  pres- 
entation of  Christianity  as  a  Sijiritual  life  ;  The  Harp 
and  the  Cross,  a  selection  of  religious  poetry,  edited  by 


THE   PEKIOD   OF   RADICALISM  166 

Stephen  G.  Bulfinch ;  Sears's  Athanasia,  or  Foregleams 
of  Immortality  ;  and  Seven  Stormy  Sundays,  a  volume 
of  original  sermons  by  well-known  ministers,  with  devo- 
tional services,  edited  by  Miss  Lucretia  P.  Hale.  A 
Biblical  Library  was  also  planned,  to  include  a  popular 
commentary  on  the  New  Testament,  a  Bible  Diction- 
ary, and  other  works  of  a  like  character ;  but  John  H. 
Morison's  Disquisitions  and  Notes  on  the  Gospel  of 
Matthew  was  the  only  volume  pubhshed. 

In   May,    1859,  a  young   business    man   of   Boston, 

James  P.  Walker,  estabhshed  the  fu-m  of 
A  Firm  of  ^^.^l^  ^ig^  ^  q  f^j.  ^j^g  publication 
Publishers.  ^ 

of   Unitarian    books.      In    1863    Horace   B. 

Fuller  joined  the  firm,  and  it  became  Walker,  Ful- 
ler &  Co.  This  firm  took  charge  of  all  the  pubHsh- 
ing  interests  of  the  Association,  and  the  head  of  the 
house  was  ambitious  of  bringing  out  all  the  liberal 
books  issued  in  this  country.  Among  the  works  pub- 
lished were:  The  New  Discussion  of  the  Trinity,  a 
series  of  articles  and  sermons  by  Hedge,  Clarke, 
Sears,  Dewey,  and  Starr  King;  Lamson's  Church  of 
the  First  Three  Centuries;  Farley's  Uuitarianism  De- 
fined; Recent  Inquiries  in  Theology,  essays  by  Jow- 
ett,  Mark  Pattison,  Baden  Powell,  and  other  Enghsh 
Broad  Churchmen,  edited  by  Dr.  F.  H.  Hedge ;  Allen's 
Hebrew  Men  and  Times;  Dall's  Woman's  Right  to 
Labor;  Muzzey's  Christ  in  the  Will,  the  Heart,  and 
the  Life ;  Ichabod  Nichols's  Sermons ;  Martineau's  Com- 
mon Prayer  for  Christian  Worsliip ;  Cobbe's  Rehgious 
Demands  of  the  Age ;  Ware's  Silent  Pastor ;  Frothing- 
ham's  Stories  from  the  Patriarchs ;  Clarke's  Hour  which 
Cometh  and  Now  Is ;  Parker's  Prayers ;  a  second  series 
of  The  Altar  at  Home;  Hedge's  Reason  in  Rehgion; 


166  UNITAEIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

Life  of  Horace  Mann  by  his  wife,  as  well  as  certain  nov- 
els, liistorical  works,  and  books  for  the  young.  The  de- 
mand for  liberal  books  was  not  large  enough,  however, 
even  with  the  aid  of  the  Association,  to  make  such  a 
business  successful ;  and  in  the  autumn  of  1866  the 
pubhshing  firm  of  Walker,  Fuller  &  Co.  failed.  In  part 
the  business  was  carried  on  for  a  time  by  Horace  B. 
Fuller. 

An  important  work  in  the  distribution  of  books  was 

inaugurated  in  1859  in  connection  w^ith  the 
Fund^'°'^''^  Meadville  Theological   School,   by  means  of 

the  Fund  for  Liberal  Christianity  estab- 
lished at  that  time  by  Joshua  Brooks  of  New  York. 
He  appointed  as  trustee  of  the  fund  Professor  Frederick 
Huidekoper,  who  gave  his  services  gratuitously  to  its 
care,  and  to  the  direction  of  the  distribution  of  books 
for  which  it  provided.  The  sum  given  to  this  purpose 
was  $20,000,  which  was  increased  by  favorable  invest- 
ments to  823,000.  The  original  purpose  was  to  aid  in 
any  way  that  seemed  desirable  the  cause  of  hberal  Chris- 
tianity, and  a  part  of  the  income  was  devoted  to  helping 
struggling  societies.  In  time  the  whole  income,  with 
the  approval  of  the  donor,  was  centred  upon  the  distri- 
bution of  books  to  settled  ministers,  irrespective  of  de- 
nomination. In  1877  the  whole  number  of  books  that 
had  been  distributed  was  40,000.  At  the  present  time 
about  $1,000  yeaiiy  are  devoted  to  this  work,  the  recip- 
ients being  graduates  of  the  Meadville  Theological 
School,  and  the  ministers  of  any  denomination  who 
may  ask  for  them,  provided  they  are  settled  west  of 
the  Hudson  River.  The  demands  upon  the  funds  have 
increased  so  rapidly  that  it  has  become  necessary  to  re- 
duce the  amount  of  each  gift. 


THE   PEillOD   OF   RADICALISM  167 

The  missionary  activities  of  the  Association  did  not 

actually  cease  even  in  these  dark  days. 
Missionary  Efforts.    ,      T,-,r>rrT^         t^. 

In  May,  1855,  Rev.  Ephraim  Nute  was 

sent  to  Kansas,  which  was  then  the  battle-ground  be- 
tween the  pro-slavery  and  the  anti-slavery  forces  of  the 
nation.  He  estabhshed  himself  at  Lawrence,  and  was 
':he  first  settled  pastor  in  the  state.  With  the  aid  of  the 
Association  a  chm-ch  was  built  at  Lawrence  in  1859, 
which  was  the  first  in  the  state  to  receive  dedication  and 
to  be  used  as  a  permanent  house  of  worshijj.  Mr.  Nute 
went  through  all  the  trying  scenes  preceding  the  open- 
ing of  the  civil  war,  and  did  his  part  m  maintaining  the 
cause  of  hberty.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev,  John  S. 
Brown  in  1859,  who  labored  in  this  difficult  field  for 
several  years. 

A  church  was  organized  m  San  Francisco  in  1849, 
without  the  aid  of  a  minister ;  and  there  was  gathered  a 
large  and  prosperous  congregation.  In  1850  Rev. 
Charles  A.  Farley  took  up  the  work ;  and  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Rev.  Joseph  Harrington,  Rev.  Frederick  T. 
Gray,  and  Rev.  Rufus  P.  Cutler.  Thomas  Starr  King 
preached  liis  first  sermon  in  the  church  April  28,  1860 ; 
and  he  spoke  to  crowded  congregations  until  his  death, 
March  4,  1864.  On  January  10,  1864,  a  new  church 
was  dedicated,  in  the  morning  to  the  worship  of  God, 
and  in  the  afternoon  to  the  service  of  man. 

Among  those  who  carried  forward  the  Unitarian 
cause  in  the  middle  west  was  Rev.  Nahor  A.  Staples, 
a  brilhant  preacher  and  a  zealous  worker,  who  was  set- 
tled in  Milwaukee  at  the  end  of  1856,  and  who  made 
his  influence  widely  felt  around  him.  In  1859  Rev. 
Robert  CoUyer  began  his  work  in  Chicago  as  a  city 
missionary;  and  the  next  year  Unity  Church  was  or- 


168  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMEEICA 

ganized,  with  him  as  the  pastor.  In  1859  Rev.  Charles 
G.  Ames  began  his  connection  with  the  Unitarians  at 
Minneapolis,  and  he  subsequently  labored  at  Blooming- 
ton.  After  a  short  pastorate  in  Albany  he  began  general 
missionary  labors  on  the  Pacific  coast.  A  characteristic 
type  of  the  western  Unitarian  was  Rev.  Ichabod  Cod- 
ding, who  preached  at  Bloomington,  Keokuk,  and  Bara- 
boo,  but  who  had  no  formal  settlement.  He  was  a 
breezy,  radical,  and  ardent  preacher,  bold  in  statement 
and  picturesque  in  style,  a  zealous  advocate  of  freedom 
for  the  slave,  and  warmly  devoted  to  other  reforms.  He 
was  fitted  admirably  for  the  pioneer  preaching  to  which 
he  largely  devoted  himself;  and  his  strong,  vigorous, 
and  aggressive  ideas  were  acceptable  to  those  who 
heard  him. 

There  was  organized  in  the  church  at  Cincinnati,  May 
7,  1852,  the  Annual  Conference  of  Western 
The  Western  Unitarian  Churches.  At  this  meeting  dele- 
Conference  gates  were  present  from  the  churches  in  Buf- 
falo, Meadville,  Pittsburg,  Wheeling,  Cincin- 
nati, Louisville,  St.  Louis,  Cannelton,  Quincy,  Geneva, 
Chicago,  and  Detroit.  Much  enthusiasm  was  expressed 
in  anticipation  of  this  meeting,  many  letters  were  writ- 
ten approving  of  the  proposed  organization,  and  large 
expectations  were  manifested  as  to  its  promised  work. 
In  harmony  with  these  large  and  generous  anticipations 
of  the  influence  of  the  conference  was  its  statement  of 
purposes,  as  presented  in  its  constitution.  It  was  organ- 
ized for  "the  promotion  of  the  Christian  spirit  in  the 
several  churches  which  compose  it,  and  the  increase  of 
vital,  practical  religion;  the  diffusion  of  Gospel  truth 
and  the  accomplishment  of  such  works  of  Christian  be- 
nevolence as  may  be  agreed  upon ;  the  support  of  do- 


THE    PERIOD    OF    RADICALISM  169 

mestic  or  home  missionaries,  the  publication  of  tracts, 
the  distribution  of  religious  books,  the  promotion  of 
theological  education,  and  extending  aid  to  such  socie- 
ties as  may  need  it." 

When  the  conference  organized.  Rev.  William  G.  Eliot 
was  elected  the  president,  Mr.  Charles  Harlow  and  Rev. 
A.  A.  Livermore  the  recording  and  corresponding  secre- 
taries. During  the  year  $994.22  were  raised  for  mis- 
sionary purposes,  and  three  missionaries  —  Boyer,  Co- 
nant,  and  Bradley  —  were  kept  in  the  field,  mainly  in 
IlHnois  and  Michigan.  The  reports  of  these  men,  given 
at  the  second  meeting  of  the  conference,  held  in  St. 
Louis,  were  full  of  enthusiasm  and  courage.  At  this 
meeting  the  constituency  numbered  nineteen  churches, 
located  in  eleven  states.  Several  struggling  societies 
had  been  aided,  assistance  given  to  young  men  preparing 
for  the  ministry,  and  many  tracts  and  books  had  been 
distributed.  A  book  depositary  was  opened  in  Cincin- 
nati, and  it  was  proposed  to  establish  one  in  every  large 
city  in  the  west.  The  call  was  for  a  much  larger  number 
of  preachers,  it  being  rightly  maintained  that  only  the 
living  man  can  reach  the  people  in  such  a  region.  "  The 
Unitarian  mmister  is  per  se  a  bookseller  and  colporter 
also,  and  he  can  thus  preach  to  multitudes  who  never 
hear  his  voice." 

The  early  anticipations  of  a  rapid  advance  of  Unitari- 
anism  in  the  west  were  not  realized,  partly  owing  to  the 
want  of  ministers  of  energy  and  the  necessary  staying 
qualities,  and  parti)''  to  the  fact  that  tradition  is  always  far 
more  powerful  with  the  masses  of  men  and  women  than 
reason.  Before  the  organization  of  the  conference  new 
churches  appeared  at  infrequent  intervals,  though,  if 
those  that  have  ceased  to  exist  were  counted,  they  would 


170  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

not  be  so  remote  from  each  other  in  time.*  From  the 
first  there  was  in  the  west  a  distinctive  attitude  of  free- 
dom, which  was  the  result  in  large  measure  of  its  fluctu- 
ating conditions,  and  the  absence  of  fixed  habits  and 
traditions.  In  1853  the  missionaries  of  the  conference 
were  instructed  that  "  in  spirit  and  in  aim  the  Confer- 
ence would  be  Christian,  not  sectarian,  and  it  does  not, 
therefore,  require  of  them  subscription  to  any  human 
creed,  the  wearing  of  any  distinctive  name,  or  the  doing 
of  any  merely  sectarian  work.  All  that  it  requires  is, 
that  they  should  be  Christians  and  do  Cliristian  work, 
that  they  should  beheve  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  one 
who  spake  with  authority  and  whose  religion  is  the  di- 
vinely appointed  means  for  the  regeneration  of  man  indi- 
vidually and  collectively,  and  that  they  should  labor  ear- 
nestly, intelhgently,  affectionately,  and  perseveringly  to 
enthrone  this  religion  in  the  hearts  and  make  it  effective 
over  the  lives  of  men."  Such  a  statement  as  this,  in- 
deed, was  quite  as  conservative  as  anything  put  forth  by 
Unitarians  in  New  England ;  but  behind  it  was  an  atti- 
tude of  free  inquiry  that  gave  to  western  Unitarianism 
distinctive  characteristics. 

In  1854  a  committee  reported  on  the  doctrinal  basis 
of  the  conference,  in  the  form  of  a  little  book  of  sixty- 
five    pages,  bearing   the    title    of    Unitarian    Views  of 

*0f  the  churches  now  in  existence  the  first  in  Chicago  was  organized  in 
1836,  that  at  Quincy  in  1840,  Milwaukee  and  Geneva  in  1842,  Detroit  in  1850. 
After  the  conference  began  its  work,  they  appear  more  frequently,  Keokuk 
coming  into  existence  in  1853,  Marietta  in  1855,  Lawrence  in  1856,  Unity  of 
Chicago,  Kalamazoo,  and  Buda  in  1858,  Bloomington  in  1859.  Then  comes 
a  blank  during  the  war  period,  and  a  more  rapid  growth  after  it,  especially 
when  the  National  Conference  had  given  impetus  to  missionary  activities. 
Janesville  was  organized  in  1864 ;  Ann  Arbor,  Kenosha,  and  Baraboo,  in 
1865  Tremont,  in  1866  ;  Cleveland  and  Mattoon,  in  1867 ;  Unity  of  St. 
Louis,  Kansas  City,  St.  Joseph,  Shelbyville,  Davenport,  Greneseo,  Third 
of  Chicago,  and  Sheffield,  in  1868  ;  Omaha,  in  1869. 


THE    PEKIOD   OF   RADICALISM  171 

Christ.*  It  was  widely  circulated,  and  served  an  excel- 
lent missionary  purpose.  When  the  conference  ac- 
cepted the  report,  in  which  it  was  declared  that  Jesus 
is  the  Son  of  God  and  the  miracles  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment facts  on  which  the  gospel  is  based,  a  resolution 
was  unanimously  passed,  asserting  that  "we  have  no 
right  to  adopt  any  statement  of  belief  as  authoritative 
or  as  a  declaration  of  the  Unitarian  faith,  other  than 
the  New  Testament."  In  1858  it  was  the  opinion  of 
the  conference  that  "  all  who  wish  to  take  upon  them- 
selves the  Christian  name  should  be  so  recognized." 
The  next  year  the  conservatives  and  radicals  came  face  to 
face,  the  one  party  asking  for  the  old  faith  according  to 
Channing,  while  one  or  more  of  the  other  party  asserted 
their  disbehef  in  the  miracles  and  in  the  resurrection  of 
Christ.  In  1860  the  conference  declared  itself  willing 
to  "  welcome  as  fellow  laborers  all  who  are  seeking  to 
learn  and  to  do  the  will  of  the  Father  and  work  right- 
eousness, and  recommend  that  in  all  places,  with  or 
without  preaching,  they  organize  for  religious  worship 
and  culture  —  the  work  of  faith  and  the  labor  of  love." 
The  meeting  at  Quincy  in  1860  was  one  of  great 
interest  and  enthusiasm.  The  missionary  spirit  rose 
high;  and  it  was  proposed  to  put  into  the  field  an 
aggressive  worker,  and  to  give  him  the  necessary  finan- 
cial support.  To  this  end  a  missionary  association  was 
organized,  with  Rev.  Robert  Collyer  as  the  president, 
and  Artemas  Carter,  a  successful  business  man  of 
Chicago,  as  the  treasurer.  Before  the  result  desired 
could  be  realized,  the  war  gave  a  very  different  direction 
to  all  the  interests  of  the  western  churches.  Of  the 
twenty-nine  ministers  in  the  west  at  this  time,  sixteen 

•Written  by  WiUiam  G.  Eliot,  of  St.  Louis. 


172  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

went  into  the  army, —  twelve  as  chaplains,  two  as 
officers,  and  two  as  privates, —  while  several  others 
devoted  themselves  to  hospital  work  for  longer  or 
shorter  periods.  Rev.  Augustus  H.  Conant,  Rev. 
Leonard  Whitney,  Rev.  Frederick  R.  Newell,  and  Rev. 
L.  B.  Mason  answered  with  their  lives  to  their  coun- 
try's call. 

The  period  immediately  following  the  close  of  the 
civil  war  was  one  of  generous  giving  and  of  great 
activity  on  the  part  of  the  western  churches.  From 
1864  to  1866  the  field  was  occupied  by  twenty-one  new 
laborers,  several  new  societies  were  organized,  four  old 
ones  were  resuscitated,  seven  new  churches  were  built, 
and  fifteen  missionary  stations  were  opened.  The 
churches  during  these  two  years  contributed  $5,000  to 
missionary  purposes  and  $13,000  to  Antioch  College. 
The  degree  of  success  met  with  in  the  efforts  of  the 
Western  Conference  depended  in  large  degree  upon  the 
interest  and  activity  of  the  western  churches  themselves. 
When  they  devoted  themselves  earnestly  to  missionary 
work,  they  contributed  to  it  with  a  fair  degree  of  liberal- 
ity, and  that  work  prospered.  When  the  conference 
was  asked  to  withdraw  from  the  direction  of  that  work 
by  Rev.  Charles  Lowe,  in  order  to  secure  greater  unity 
of  missionary  effort  by  bringing  all  work  of  this  kind 
under  the  direction  of  the  Association,  the  contribu- 
tions of  the  churches  diminished,  and  the  missionary 
activities  in  the  west  languished.  However  valuable 
the  aid  of  the  Unitarian  Association, —  and  there  can  be 
no  question  that  it  was  of  the  greatest  importance, — 
local  interest  and  co-operation  were  also  essential  to 
permanent  success.  Local  activity  and  general  over- 
sight were  alike  necessary. 


THE   PEKIOD   OF   RADICALISM  173 

For  more  than  twenty  years  Autumnal  Conventions, 

as  they  were  called,  were  held  in  the 
The  Autumnal  ,  .^.         ,       .      .  ^^  ttt  ,        • 

Conventions.      ^^^S^^   Cities,    begmning   at  Worcester  m 

1842.  These  meetings  originated  in  the 
Worcester  Association  of  Ministers  at  a  meeting  held 
July  11,  1842,  when  the  association  considered  the 
"desirableness  of  a  meeting  of  Unitarians  in  the  au- 
tumn for  the  purpose  of  awakening  mutual  sympathy 
and  considering  the  wants  of  the  Unitarian  body."  * 

At  the  invitation  thereafter  issued  by  the  Worcester 
Association  of  ministers  a  convention  was  held  in  the 
church  of  the  Second  Congregational  Parish  in  Worces- 
ter, October  18-20,  1842.  On  the  first  evenmg  a 
sermon  was  preached  by  Dr.  Ezra  S.  Gannett,  and  a 
committee  of  business  was  subsequently  chosen.  The 
next  morning  the  convention  organized,  with  Dr.  Fran- 
cis Parkman  as  president  and  Rev.  Cazneau  Palfrey  as 
secretary.  A  series  of  resolutions  were  discussed,!  and 
on  the  second  evening  a  serin^  was  preached  by  Dr. 
A.  P.  Peabody.  No  essays  were  read,  and  nothing  but 
the  sermons  were  prepared  beforehand.  The  Christian 
Register  closed  its  report  by  saymg  that  it  could  "  give 

*  Joseph  Allen,  The  Worcester  Association  and  its  Antecedents,  268. 

t  Throug-li  the  business  committee  the  following  resolutions  were  sub- 
mitted for  the  consideration  of  the  convention,  and  they  were  taken  up  in 
order : — 

Resolved,  That  we  acknowledge  with  profound  gratitude  the  success 
which  has  attended  our  labors  iu  the  cause  of  religious  freedom,  virtue, 
and  piety,  and  are  encouraged  to  persevere  with  renewed  zeal  and  energy. 

Resolved,  That  iu  the  character  and  life  of  Rev.  William  E.  Channing, 
just  removed  from  us,  we  acknowledge  one  of  the  richest  gifts  of  God,  in 
intellectual  endowments,  pure  aspiration,  moral  courage,  and  disinterested 
devotion  to  the  cause  of  truth,  freedom,  and  humanity,  and  that  in  view  of 
this,  we  feel  our  increased  obligation  to  Christian  fidelity  and  heavenward 
progress. 

Resolved,  That  viewing  with  anxiety  prevailing  fanaticism  and  growing 
disregard  of  public  trusts  and  private  relations,  we  should  earnestly  labor 
for  a  higher  religious  principle,  and  especially  urge  the  paramount  claims 
of  moral  duty. 


174  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

but  a  faint  impression  of  the  feeling  which  pervaded 
the  meeting.  The  discussions  were  characterized  by 
great  earnestness  and  seriousness,  and  were  conducted, 
at  the  same  time,  with  entire  freedom  and  with  candor 
and  hberality  toward  the  differences  of  opinion  which, 
amidst  a  general  unanimity  upon  great  principles,  were 
occasionally  elicited  respecting  details  and  methods. 
The  expectations  of  those  who  called  the  convention 
were  abundantly  realized." 

The  second  of  the  Autumnal  Conventions  was  held 
in  Providence,  October  2-4,  1843.  On  the  first  even- 
ing the  theme  of  the  sermon  preached  by  Dr.  Dewey 
was  the  spiritual  ministry  of  Dr.  Channing,  and  it  pro- 
duced a  great  and  deep  impression.  The  resolutions 
discussed  related  to  the  duty,  on  the  part  of  Unitarians, 
of  making  an  explicit  statement  of  their  convictions, 
and  an  earnest  application  of  them  to  life,  and  the  need 
on  the  part  of  the  denomination  for  a  more  united  and 
vigorous  action  as  a  religious  body.  At  the  third 
meeting  held  in  Albany,  a  statement  was  made  by  Dr. 
Dewey  that  exactly  defined  these  gatherings,  in  their 
methods  and  purposes,  when  he  said :  "  This  and  other 
conventions  like  it  that  are  held  in  our  body,  I  am  in- 
clined to  tliink,  have  never  been  held  before  in  the 
world.  There  is  nothing  like  them  to  be  found  in  the 
records  of  ecclesiastical  history.  We  meet  as  distinct 
churches,  on  the  pure  democratic  basis,  which  we  be- 
lieve to  be  the  true  basis  of  the  church  of  Christ.  We 
meet  without  any  formalities  —  to  institute  or  correct 
no  canons  —  without  the  slightest  system  whatever. 
We  come  to  meditate,  to  assist  each  other  in  experience, 
by  unfolding  our  own  experience,  by  declaring  our  own 
convictions." 


THE   PERIOD   OF   RADICALISM  175 

The  subjects  introduced  at  these  meetings  were  prac- 
tical, such  as  commanded  the  interest  of  both  ministers 
and  laymen  of  the  churches.  The  method  adopted 
allowed  a  free  interchange  of  opinions,  and  the  partici- 
pation of  all  in  the  discussions.  So  great  was  the 
interest  awakened  that  these  meetings  were  largely 
attended,  and  they  were  to  a  considerable  degree  help- 
ful in  bringing  the  churches  into  vital  relations  with 
each  other.* 

At  the  session  held  in  Brooklyn  in  1862,  great  inter- 
est was  manifested  in  the  vespers,  then  a  novelty,  that 
were  arranged  by  Samuel  Longfellow.  This  meeting 
was  marked  by  its  glowing  patriotism,  that  rose  to 
a  white  heat.  A  sermon  of  great  power  was  preached 
by  Dr.  Bellows,  interpreting  the  duty  of  the  hour  and 
the  destiny  of  America.  The  resolutions  and  the  dis- 
cussions were  almost  wholly  along  the  lines  of  patriotic 
duty  and  devotion  suggested  by  the  sermon.  At  the 
last  of  the  Autumnal  Conventions,  held  in  Spring- 
field, Mass.,  October  13-15,  1863,  the  sermons  were 
preached  by  Rev.  Edward  Everett  Hale  and  Rev.  Octa- 
vius  B.  Frothingham,  while  the  essays  were  by  Pro- 
fessor Charles  Eliot  Norton  and  Rev.  James  Freeman 
Clarke. 

The  Autumnal  Conventions  came  to  an  end,  prob- 
ably in  part  because  the  civil  war  was  more  and  more 
absorbing  the  energies  of  the  people  both  in  and  out  of 
the  churches,  and  partly  because  the  desire  for  a  more 

*  TTie  places  and  dates  'of  the  Autumnal  Conventions  were  as  follows 
Worcester,  1842;  Providence,  1843;  Albany,  1844;  New  York,  1845 
Philadelphia,  1846;  Salem,  1847;  New  Bedford,  1848;  Portland,  1849 
Spring^field,  1850;  Portsmouth,  1851;  Baltimore,  1852;  Worcester,  1853 
Montreal,  1854  ;  Providence,  18  jfi ;  Bangor,  1856 ;  Syracuse,  1857  ;  Salem 
1858 ;  Lowell,  1859 ;  New  Bedford,  18(50 ;  Boston,  18G1 ;  Brooklyn,  1862 
Springfield,  1863. 


176  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

efficient  organizatiou  had  begun  to  make  itself  felt.  In 
the  spring  of  1865  was  held  the  meeting  in  New  York 
that  resulted  in  the  organization  of  the  National  Con- 
ference, the  legitimate  successor  to  the  Autumnal 
Conventions. 

During  the  period  of  the  civil  war,  Unitarian  activ- 
ities were   largely  turned   in  new  direc- 
Influence  of  the   , .  tt   -i.     •  u  ^x.   ■      £  ^^      ^ 

C  il  War  tions.     Umtarians  bore   their   full   share 

in  the  councils  of  the  nation,  in  the  halls 
of  legislation,  on  the  fields  of  battle,  in  the  care  of  the 
sick  and  wounded,  and  in  the  final  efforts  that  brought 
about  emancipation  and  peace.  At  least  fifty  Unitarian 
ministers  entered  the  army  as  chaplains,  privates,  offi- 
cers, and  members  of  the  Sanitary  Commission.* 

*  The  first  regiments  from  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  and  Kansas, 
had  as  their  chaplains  Warren  H.  Cudworth,  Augustus  Woodbury,  and 
Ephraim  Nute.  Charles  Babbidge  was  the  chaplain  of  the  sixth  Massa- 
chusetts regiment,  that  which  was  fired  upon  in  Baltimore.  The  first 
artillery  company  from  Massachusetts  had  as  its  chaplain  Stephen  Barker. 
Others  who  served  as  army  chaplains  were  John  Pierpont,  Edmund  B. 
WiUson,  Francis  C.  Williams,  Arthur  B.  Fuller,  Sylvan  S.  Hunting, 
Charles  T.  Canfield,  Edward  H,  Hall,  George  H.  Hepworth,  Joseph  F. 
Lovering,  Edwin  M.  Wheeloek,  George  W.  Bartlett,  John  C.  Kimball, 
Augustus  M.  Haskell,  Charles  A.  Humphreys,  Milton  J.  Miller,  George  A. 
Ball,  William  G.  Scandlin,  E.  B.  Fairehild,  Samuel  W.  MeDaniel,  Fred- 
erick R.  Newell,  George  W.  Woodwai-d,  Stephen  H.  Camp,  William  D. 
Haley,  Leonard  Whitney,  Gilbert  Cummings,  Nahor  A.  Staples,  Carlton 
A.  Staples,  Martin  M.  Willis,  John  F.  Moors,  L.  B.  Mason,  Robei-t  Hassall, 
Liberty  Billings,  Daniel  Foster,  J.  G.  Forman,  and  Augustus  H.  Conant. 
Robert  Collyer  was  chaplain-at-large  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 
Charles  J.  Bowen,  WiUiam  J.  Potter,  Charles  Noyes,  James  Richardson, 
and  William  H.  Channing  served  as  hospital  chaplains. 

Among  the  ministers  who  served  as  officers  were  :  Hasbrouck  Davis,  who 
became  a  general ;  William  B.  Greene,  colonel ;  Gerald  Fitzgerald,  who 
enlisted  as  a  private,  rose  to  the  rank  of  first  lieutenant,  and  was  elected 
chaplain  of  his  regiment ;  Edward  I.  Galvin,  lieutenant,  also  elected  chap- 
lain ;  James  K.  Hosmer,  who  served  through  the  war,  at  first  as  a  private 
and  then  as  a  corporal,  writing  his  experiences  into  The  Color  Guard  and 
Tlie  Thinking  Bayonet ;  George  W.  Shaw  and  Alvin  Allen,  privates. 
Thomas  D.  Howard  and  James  H.  Fowler  were  chaplains  in  colored  regi- 
ments.   After  service  as  a  chaplain  of  a  New  Hampshire  regiment,  Edwiu 


THE   PERIOD   OF   RADICALISM  177 

The  Unitarian  Association  also  directed  its  attention 
to  such  work  as  it  could  accomplish  in  behalf  of  the 
soldiers  in  the  field  and  in  hospitals.  Books  were  dis- 
tributed, tracts  published,  and  hymn-books  prepared  to 
meet  their  needs.  Rev.  John  F.  W.  Ware  developed  a 
special  gift  for  ^vriting  army  tracts,  of  which  he  wrote 
about  a  dozen,  which  were  published  by  the  Associa- 
tion. As  the  war  went  on,  the  Association  largely  in- 
creased its  activities  in  the  army ;  and,  when  the  end 
came,  it  had  as  many  as  seventy  workers  in  the  field, 
distributing  its  publications,  aiding  the  Sanitary  Com- 
mission, or  acting  as  nurses  and  voluntary  chaplains  in 
the  hospitals.  The  end  of  the  war  served  rather  to  in- 
crease than  to  contract  its  labors,  aid  being  largely 
needed  for  several  months  in  returning  the  soldiers  to 
their  homes  and  in  caring  for  those  who  were  left  in 
hospitals. 

Early  in  the  summer  of  1863  Rev.  WilHam  G. 
Scandlin  was  sent  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  as  the 
agent  of  the  Association.  Taken  prisoner  in  July,  he 
spent  several  months  in  Libby  prison,  where  he  was 
kindly  treated  and  exercised  a  beneficent  influence. 
He  was  followed  in  this  work  by  Rev.  William  M. 
Mellen,  who  estabhshed  a  Hbrary  of  3,000  volumes 
at  the  convalescent  camp,  Alexandria,  and  also  dis- 
tributed a  large  amount  of  reading  matter  in  the  army. 
Rev.  Charles  Lowe  served  for  several  months  as  chap- 
lain in  the  camp  of  drafted  men  on  Long  Island,  his 

M.  Wheelock  became  a  lieutenant  in  a  colored  regiment,  aa  did  Charles  B. 
Webster.  Thomas  W.  Higginson  was  colonel  of  a  colored  regiment,  and  in 
another  Henry  Stone  was  lieutenant  colonel.  It  is  doubtful  if  this  list  is 
complete,  though  an  effort  has  been  made  to  have  it  as  nearly  so  as  possible. 
Those  who  served  in  the  army,  and  became  ministers  after  leaving  it,  haye 
not  been  included.    So  far  as  known,  only  ordained  ministers  are  named. 


178  UNITAKIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

salary  being  paid  by  the  Association.  In  November, 
1864,  he  made  a  tour  of  inspection,  as  the  agent  of  the 
Association,  to  the  hospitals  of  Philadelphia,  Baltimore, 
Annapolis,  Wasliington,  Alexandria,  Fortress  Monroe, 
City  Point,  and  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  in  order  to 
arrange  for  the  proper  distribution  of  reading  matter 
and  for  such  other  hospital  service  as  could  be  rendered. 
More  than  3,000  volumes  of  the  publications  of  the 
Association  were  distributed  to  the  soldiers  and  in  the 
hospitals,  largely  by  Rev.  J.  G.  Forman,  of  St.  Louis, 
and  Rev.  John  H.  Heywood,  of  Louisville.  Among 
those  who  acted  as  agents  of  the  Association  in  furnish- 
ing reading  to  the  army  and  hospitals  were  Rev.  Calvin 
Stebbins,  Rev.  Frederick  W.  Holland,  Rev.  Benjamin 
H.  Bailey,  Rev.  Artemas  B.  Muzzey,  Rev.  Newton  M. 
Mann,  and  Mr.  Henry  G.  Demiy.  Rev.  Samuel  Abbot 
Smith  worked  zealously  at  Norfolk  at  the  hospitals  and 
in  preaching  to  the  soldiers,  until  disease  and  death 
brought  his  labors  to  a  close.  What  this  kind  of  work 
was,  and  what  it  accomphshed,  was  described  by  Louisa 
Alcott  in  her  Hospital  Sketches,  and  by  William 
Howell  Reed  in  his  Hospital  Life  in  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac. 

The  Sanitary  Commission  has  been  described  by  its 

historian    as    "  one    of    the    most   sliining 

The  Sanitary  ,        £  •    -t      ••       ?5        i 

^        .    .         monuments  oi  our  civilization,    and  as  an 

Commission.  ' 

expression  of  organized  sympathy  that 
"must  always  and  everywhere  call  forth  the  homage 
and  admiration  of  mankind."  The  organizer  and  leader 
of  this  great  philanthropic  movement  for  relieving 
human  suffering  was  Dr.  Henry  W.  Bellows,  the  min- 
ister of  All  Souls'  Church  in  New  York,  the  first  Uni- 
tarian church  organized  in  that  city.     The  Commission 


THE   PERIOD   OF   RADICALISM  179 

was  first  suggested  by  Dr.  Bellows,  and  he  was  its 
efficient  leader  from  the  first  to  the  last.  He  was 
unanimously  selected  as  its  president,  when  the  govern- 
ment had  been  persuaded,  largely  through  his  influence, 
to  estabhsh  it  as  an  addition  to  its  medical  and  hospital 
service.  The  liistorian  of  the  Commission  has  justly 
said  that  he  "  possessed  many  remarkable  qualifications 
for  so  responsible  a  position.  Perhaps  no  man  m  the 
country  exerted  a  wider  or  more  powerful  influence 
over  those  who  were  earnestly  seeking  the  best  means 
of  defending  our  threatened  nationality,  and  certainly 
never  was  a  moral  power  of  this  kind  fomided  upon 
juster  and  truer  grounds.  This  influence  was  not  con- 
fined to  his  home,  the  city  of  New  York,  although  there 
it  was  incontestably  very  great,  but  it  extended  over 
many  other  portions  of  the  country,  and  particularly 
throughout  New  England,  where  circumstances  had 
made  his  name  and  his  reputation  for  zeal  and  ability 
famiUar  to  those  most  hkely  to  aid  in  the  furtherance 
of  the  new  scheme.  This  power  was  due,  partly  of 
course  to  the  very  eminent  position  which  he  occupied 
as  a  clergyman,  partly  to  the  persistent  efforts  and  en- 
lightened zeal  with  which  he  advocated  all  wise  meas- 
ures of  social  reform,  perhaps  to  his  widely  extended 
reputation  as  an  orator,  but  primarily,  and  above  all,  to 
the  rare  combination  of  wide  comprehensive  views  of 
great  questions  of  public  policy  with  extraordinary 
practical  sagacity,  which  enabled  him  so  to  organize 
popular  intelligence  and  sympathy  that  the  best  practi- 
cal results  were  attained  while  the  hfe-giving  principle 
was  preserved.  He  had  the  credit  of  not  being  what  so 
many  of  his  profession  are,  an  ideologue ;  he  had  the 
clearest  perception  of  what  could  and  what  could  not 


180  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

be  done,  and  he  never  hesitated  to  regard  actual  experi- 
ence as  the  best  practical  test  of  the  value  of  his  plans 
and  theories.  These  qualities,  so  precious  and  so  ex- 
ceptional in  their  nature,  appeared  conspicuously  in  the 
efforts  made  by  him  to  secure  the  appointment  of  the 
Commission  by  the  Government,  and  it  will  be  found 
that  every  page  of  its  history  bears  the  strong  impress 
of  his  peculiar  and  characteristic  views."  * 

These  words  of  Charles  J.  Stille,  a  member  of  the 
Sanitary  Commission  and  its  authorized  historian,  after- 
ward the  provost  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  in- 
dicate the  remarkable  qualities  of  leadership  possessed 
by  Dr.  Bellows.  These  were  undoubtedly  added  to  and 
made  more  impressive  by  his  oratorical  genius,  that  was 
of  a  very  high  order.  Dr.  Hedge  spoke  of  the  miracu- 
lous power  of  speech  possessed  by  Dr.  Bellows,  when  he 
was  at  his  best,  as  being  "  incomparably  better  than  any- 
thing he  could  have  possibly  compassed  by  careful  prep- 
aration or  conscious  effort,"  and  of  "those  exalted  mo- 
ments when  he  was  fully  possessed  by  his  daemon."  f 
He  was  inexhaustible  in  his  efforts  for  the  success  of  the 
Commission,  in  directing  the  work  of  committees  and 
branches,  in  appeahng  to  the  indifferent,  and  in  giving 
enthusiasm  to  all  the  forces  under  his  direction. 

Of  the  nine  original  members  of  the  Sanitary  Com- 
mission, four  were  Unitarians, —  Dr.  Bellows,  Dr.  Sam- 
uel G.  Howe,  Dr.  Jeffries  Wyman,  and  Professor  Wol- 
cott  Gibbs.  In  the  number  of  those  added  later  was 
Rev.  John  H.  Heywood,  for  many  years  the  minister  of 
the  Unitarian  chm-ch  in  Louisville,  who  rendered  effi- 

*  History  of  the  United  States  Sanitary  Commission,  being  the^General 
Report  of  its  Work  during  the  War  of  the  Rebellion. 

t  J.  H.  Allen,  Our  Liberal  Movement  in  Theology,  210. 


THE    PERIOD    OF    KADICALISM  181 

cient  service  in  the  western  department.  In  the  conva- 
lescents' camp  at  Alexandria  "  a  wonderful  woman," 
Miss  Amy  Bradley,  had  charge  of  the  efficient  labors  of 
the  Commission,  "  where  for  two  and  a  half  years  she 
and  her  assistants  rendered  incalculable  service,  in  dis- 
tributing clothing  among  the  needy,  procuring  dainties 
for  the  sick,  accompanying  discharged  soldiers  to  Wash- 
ington and  assisting  them  in  procuring  their  papers  and 
pay,  furnishing  paper  and  postage,  and  writing  letters 
for  the  sick,  forwarding  money  home  by  drafts  that  cost 
nothing  to  the  soldier,  answering  letters  of  inquiry  to 
hospital  directors,  securing  certificates  of  arrears  of  pay 
and  getting  erroneous  charges  of  desertion  removed  (the 
Commission  saved  several  innocent  soldiers  from  being 
shot  as  condemned  deserters),  distributing  reading  mat- 
ter, telegraphing  the  friends  of  very  ill  soldiers,  furnish- 
insf  meals  for  feeble  soldiers  in  barracks  who  could  not 
eat  the  regulation  food.  Miss  Bradley  assisted  2,000 
men  to  secure  arrears  of  pay  amounting  to  $200,000. 
Prisoners  of  war,  while  in  prison  and  when  released  by 
general  exchange,  were  largely  and  promptly  relieved 
and  comforted  by  this  department."  *  Another  effective 
worker  was  Frederick  N.  Knapp,  who  had  been  for  sev- 
eral years  a  Unitarian  minister,  and  who  was  the  lead- 
ing spirit  in  the  special  relief  service  of  the  Commission, 
"  and  organized  and  controlled  it  with  masterly  zeal,  hu- 
manity, and  success."  f  The  work  of  Mr.  Knapp  was 
of  great  importance ;  for  he  was  the  confidential  secre- 
tary of  Dr.  Bellows,  and  gave  his  whole  time  to  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Commission.     He  was  a  methodical  worker, 

*  Henry  W.  Bellows,  article  on  the  Sanitary  Commission,  in  Johnson's 
Cyclopedia,  revised  edition. 
+  Ibid, 


182  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

an  efificieiit  organizer,  and  supplied  those  qualities  of 
persistent  industry  and  grasp  of  details  in  wliich  Dr. 
Bellows  was  deficient.  Without  his  untiring  energy 
and  skiKul  directing  power  the  Commission  would 
have  been  less  effective  than  it  was  in  fact.  Dr.  Bellows 
also  described  WilUam  G.  Scandlin  as  "  one  of  the 
most  earnest  and  effective  of  the  Sanitary  Commission 
agents." 

In  the  autumn  of  1862  the  Commission  was  greatly 
crippled  in  its  work  because  it  could  not  obtain  the 
money  with  which  to  carry  on  its  extensive  operations, 
and  it  was  saved  from  failure  by  the  generosity  of  Cali- 
fornia, and  the  other  Pacific  states  and  territories.  The 
remoteness  of  these  states  at  that  time  made  it  impossi- 
ble for  them  to  contribute  their  proportion  of  men,  "  and 
they  indulged  their  patriotism  and  gave  relief  to  their 
pent-up  sympathies  with  the  national  cause  by  pouring 
out  their  money  like  water."  *  The  first  contribution 
was  received  by  the  Sanitary  Commission  on  September 
19,  1862,  and  was  $100,000 :  a  fortnight  later  the  same 
sum  was  again  sent ;  and  similar  contributions  followed 
at  short  intervals.  These  sums  enabled  the  Commission 
to  accomplish  its  splendid  work,  and  to  meet  the  urgent 
needs  of  those  trying  days.  How  the  Pacific  coast  was 
able  to  contribute  so  largely  to  this  work  may  be  ex- 
plained in  the  words  of  Dr.  Bellows,  who  fully  under- 
stood the  situation,  and  the  vast  importance  of  the  help 
afforded :  "  The  most  gifted  and  inspiring  of  the  patri- 
ots who  rallied  California  and  the  Pacific  coast  to  the 
flag  of  the  Union  was  undoubtedly  Thomas  Starr  King, 
minister  of  the  first  Unitarian  church  in  San  Francisco. 

*  Henry  W.  Bellows,  article  on  the  Sanitary  Commisaion,  in  Johnson's 
Cyclopedia,  revised  edition. 


THE    PERIOD    OF    RADICALISM  183 

Born  in  New  York,  but  reared  in  Massachusetts,  he  had 
earned  an  almost  national  reputation  for  eloquence  and 
wit,  humanity  and  nobleness  of  soul,  in  the  lecture- 
rooms  and  pulpits  of  the  north  and  west,  when  at  the 
age  of  thirty-five,  he  yielded  to  the  religious  claims  of 
the  Pacific  coast  and  transferred  himself  to  California. 
There  in  four  years  he  had  built  up  as  public  speaker 
from  the  pulpit  and  platform  a  prodigious  popularity. 
His  temperament  sympathetic,  mercurial,  and  electric ; 
his  disposition  hearty,  genial,  and  sweet;  his  mind 
versatile,  quick,  and  sparkling ;  his  tact  exquisite,  and 
infallible;  with  a  voice  as  clear  as  a  bell  and  loud 
and  cheering  as  a  trumpet,  his  nature  and  accom- 
plishments perfectly  adapted  to  the  people,  and  place, 
and  the  time.  His  religious  profession  disarmed  many 
of  his  political  enemies,  his  political  orthodoxy  quieted 
many  of  his  religious  opponents.  Generous,  charitable, 
disinterested,  his  full  heart  and  open  hand  captivated 
the  CaHfornia  people,  while  his  sparkling  wit,  melodious 
cadences,  and  rhetorical  abundance  perfectly  satisfied 
their  taste  for  intensity  and  novelty  and  a  touch  of  ex- 
travagance. It  has  been  said  by  high  authority  that 
Mr.  King  saved  California  to  the  Union.  Cahfornia 
was  too  loyal  at  heart  to  make  the  boast  reasonable ;  but 
it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  Mr.  King  did  more  than 
any  man,  by  his  prompt,  outspoken,  uncalculating  loy- 
alty, to  make  California  know  what  her  own  feelings 
really  were.  He  did  all  that  any  man  could  have  done 
to  lead  public  sentiment  that  was  unconsciously  ready 
to  follow  where  earnest  loyalty  and  patriotism  should 
guide  the  way."  * 

Not  less  important  in  its  own  degree  was  the  work 

*  History  of  the  Sanitary  Commission. 


18-1  UNITAEIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

done  in  St.  Louis  by  Dr.  William  G.  Eliot,  minister 
since  1834  of  the  Unitarian  church  in  that  city.  He 
became  the  leader  in  all  efforts  for  aiding  the  soldiers, 
and  was  most  active  in  forming  and  directing  the  West- 
ern Sanitary  Commission,  that  worked  harmoniously 
with  the  national  organization,  but  independently.  A 
large  hospital  was  established  and  maintained,  a  home 
for  refugees  was  secured,  and  a  large  camp  for  "contra- 
band "  negroes  was  established,  cliiefly  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Dr.  Eliot,  and  largely  maintained  by  his  church. 
He  was  a  potent  force  in  keeping  St.  Louis  and  the 
northern  portions  of  Missouri  loyal  to  the  Union.  The 
secretary  of  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission,  J.  G. 
Forman,  a  Unitarian  minister  for  many  years,  was  most 
faithful  and  efficient  in  this  work ;  and  he  subsequently 
became  its  liistorian.  In  the  Freedman's  Hospital  at 
St.  Louis  labored  with  zeal  and  success  Rev.  Frederick 
R.  Newall ;  and  he  was  also  superintendent  of  the  Freed- 
man's Bureau  in  that  city,  his  life  being  sacrificed  to 
these  devoted  labors. 

The  work  done  by  the  Unitarian  Association  during 
the  civil  war  and  under  the  conditions  it 
esu  s  0  produced  was  not  a  large  one,  but  it  ab- 

sorbed a  considerable  part  of  its  energies 
for  about  five  years.  In  all  it  printed  over  3,000  cop- 
ies of  three  books  for  the  soldiers,*  distributed  750,000 
tracts  which  it  had  prepared  for  them,f  sent  to  the  sol- 

*  Thoughts  selected  from  Channing's  Works,  Ware's  The  Silent  Pastor, 
and  Eliot's  Discipline  of  Sorrow.  The  Association  also  issued  one  number 
of  the  Monthly  Journal  as  an  Army  Companion,  which  contained  fifty 
hymns  of  a  patriotic  and  religious  character,  with  appropriate  tunes,  selec- 
tions from  the  Bible,  directions  for  preserving  health  in  the  army,  and  se- 
lections from  addresses  on  the  injustice  of  the  rebellion  and  the  spirit  in 
which  it  should  be  put  down. 

t  Twenty  tracts  were  published.    The  first  was  written  by  Dr.  George 


THE   PERIOD   OF    RADICALISM  185 

diers  5,000  copies  weekly  of  The  Christian  Register  and 
The  Christian  Inquirer,  1,500  copies  of  the  Monthly 
Journal,  1,000  of  The  Monthly  Religious  Magazine,  and 
1,000  of  the  Sunday-school  Gazette.  During  the  last 
year  or  two  of  the  war  its  tracts  went  out  at  the  rate  of 
60,000  monthly.  The  tracts  and  the  periodicals  there- 
fore numbered  a  monthly  distribution  of  about  75,000 
copies.  The  seventy  volunteer  agents  who  brought 
these  publications  to  the  hands  of  the  soldiers,  together 
with  the  army  chaplains,  agents  of  the  Sanitary  Com- 
mission, and  the  many  nurses  in  the  hospitals,  made  a 
considerable  force  of  Unitarian  missionaries  developed 
by  the  exigencies  of  the  war,  and  the  attempts  to  me- 
liorate its  hard  conditions. 

The  period  of  fifteen  years,  from  1850  to  1865,  which 
has  been  under  consideration  in  this  chapter,  was  one  of 
the  greatest  trial  and  discouragement  to  the  Association. 
Its  funds  reached  their  lowest  ebb,  a  missionary  secre- 
tary could  not  be  maintained,  a  layman  performed  the 
necessary  office  duties,  and  no  considerable  aggressive 
work  along  missionary  lines  was  undertaken.  Writing 
in  a  most  hopeful  spirit  of  the  situation,  in  November, 
1863,  the  editor  of  The  Christian  Register  showed  that 
in  1848  the  number  of  Unitarian  churches  was  201, 
while  in  1863  it  was  205,  an  increase  of  four  only  in  fif- 
teen years.    During  this  period  fifty  parishes  had  gained 

Putnam;  and  was  on  The  Man  and  the  Soldier.  The  second  was  The  Sol- 
dier of  the  Good  Cause,  by  Prof.  C.  E.  Norton.  Others  were  A  Letter  to  a 
Sick  Soldier,  by  Rev.  Robert  Collyer ;  An  Enemy  mthin  the  Lines,  by 
Rev.  S.  H.  Winkley.  Rev.  John  F.  W.  Ware  wrote  fourteen  of  these 
tracts,  the  following  being  some  of  the  subjects :  The  Home  to  the  Camp, 
The  Home  to  the  Hospital,  Wounded  and  in  the  Hands  of  the  Enemy, 
Traitors  in  Camp,  A  Change  of  Base,  On  Picket,  The  Rebel,  The  Recruit, 
A  Few  Words  with  the  Convalescent,  Mustered  Out,  A  Few  Words  with 
the  Rank  and  File  at  Parting. 


186  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

pastors,  but  fifty  had  lost  them.  Several  strong  par- 
ishes, he  said,  had  come  into  existence,  and  two  in  large 
places  had  died.  Most  of  those  that  had  been  closed 
were  in  small  country  towns.  Nevertheless,  with  truth 
it  could  be  said  of  these  fifteen  years  of  discouragement 
and  failure  that  every  one  of  them  was  a  seed-time  for 
the  harvest  that  was  soon  to  be  reaped. 


VIII. 

THE   DENOMINATIONAL  AWAKENING. 

The  war  had  an  inspiring  influence  upon  Unitarians, 
awakening  them  to  a  consciousness  of  their  strength, 
and  drawing  them  together  to  work  for  common  pur- 
poses as  nothing  else  had  ever  done.  From  the  begin- 
ning they  saw  in  the  effort  to  save  the  Union,  and  in 
the  spirit  of  Uberty  that  animated  the  nation,  an  ex- 
pression of  their  own  principles.  Whatever  its  effect 
upon  other  religious  bodies,  the  war  gave  to  Unitarians 
new  faith,  courage,  and  enthusiasm.  For  the  first  time 
they  became  conscious  of  their  opportunity,  and  united 
in  a  determined  purpose  to  meet  its  demands  with 
fidehty  to  their  convictions  and  loyalty  to  the  call 
of  humanity.* 

No  Autumnal  Convention  having  been  held  in  1864, 
owing  to  the  failure  of  the  committee  appointed  for  that 
purpose  to  make  the  necessary  arrangements,  a  special 
meeting  of  the  Unitarian  Association  was  held  in  the 
HoUis  Street  Church,  Boston,  December  6-7,  at  the  call 
of  the  executive  committee,  "to  awaken  interest  in 
the   work   of    the    Association    by   laying   before    the 

*  Henry  W.  Bellows,  in  Monthly  Journal,  iv.  336 :  "  These  two  years  of 
war  have  witnessed  a  more  rapid  progress  in  liberal  opinions  than  the 
whole  previous  century.  The  public  mind  has  opened  itself  as  it  has  never 
been  open  before."  In  vi.  3,  he  said:  "There  are  great  and  striking 
changes  going  on.  Men  are  breaking  away  from  old  opinions,  and  there  is 
a  great  work  for  us  to  do."  This  was  said  in  December,  1864.  William  Q. 
Eliot,  Monthly  Journal,  iv.  349  :  "  The  war  has  proved  that  our  Unitarian 
faith  works  well  in  time  of  trial.  No  other  church  has  been  so  uniformly 
and  thoroughly  loyal,  and  no  other  church  has  done  more  for  the  sick  and 
dying."    Many  other  similar  words  could  be  quoted. 


188  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

churches  the  condition  of  our  funds  and  the  demand  for 
our  hibor."  The  attendance  was  large,  and  the  tone  of 
the  meeting  was  hopeful  and  enthusiastic.  After  Dr. 
Stebbins,  the  president,  had  stated  the  purpose  of  the 
meeting,  Dr.  Bellows  urged  the  importance  of  a  more 
effective  organization  of  the  Unitarian  body.  His  suc- 
cess with  the  Sanitary  Commission  had  evidently  pre- 
pared his  mind  for  a  like  work  on  the  part  of  Unitari- 
ans, and  for  a  strong  faith  in  the  value  of  organized 
effort  in  behalf  of  Uberal  religion.  His  capacity  as 
leader  during  the  war  had  prepared  men  to  accept  it 
in  other  fields  of  effort,  and  Unitarians  were  ready  to 
use  it  in  their  behalf.  The  hopefulness  that  existed, 
in  view  of  the  success  of  the  Union  cause,  and  the 
enthusiastic  interest  in  the  methods  of  moral  and 
spiritual  reform  that  was  manifested  because  of  the  tri- 
umph of  the  spirit  of  freedom  in  the  nation,  led  many 
to  think  that  like  efforts  in  behalf  of  hberal  Christianity 
would  result  in  hke  successes. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  second  day  (a  meeting  in 
the  evening  of  the  first  day  only  having  been  held) 
James  P.  Walker,  the  publisher,  gave  a  resume  of  the 
activities  of  the  Association  during  the  forty  years  of 
its  existence,  and  said  that  its  receipts  had  been  on  the 
average  only  $8,038.88  yearly.  He  showed  that  much 
had  been  done  with  this  small  sum,  and  that  the  results 
were  much  larger  than  the  amount  of  money  invested 
would  indicate.  He  pointed  out  the  fact  that  the 
demands  upon  the  Association  were  rapidly  increasing, 
and  far  more  rapidly  than  the  contributions.  There 
was  an  urgent  need  for  larger  giving,  he  said,  and  for 
a  more  loyal  support  of  the  missionary  arm  of  the  de- 
nomination.    He  offered  a  series  of  resolutions  calling 


THE   DENOMINATIONAL  AWAKENING  189 

for  the  raising  of  $25,000  during  the  year.  Rev. 
Edward  Everett  Hale  said  that  1100,000  ought  to  be 
given  to  the  proposed  object,  and  urged  that  more  mis- 
sionaries should  be  sent  into  the  field.  Thereupon  Mr. 
Henry  P.  Kidder  arose,  and  said :  "  It  is  often  easier  to 
do  a  great  thing  than  a  small  one.  I  move  that  this 
meeting  undertake  to  raise  $100,000  for  the  service  of 
the  next  year."  Dr.  Bellows  then  called  the  attention 
of  the  conference  to  the  importance  of  considering  the 
manner  of  securing  this  large  sum  and  of  devising 
methods  to  insure  success.  He  proposed  "  that  a  com- 
mittee of  ten  persons,  three  ministers  and  seven  laymen, 
should  be  appointed  to  call  a  convention,  to  consist  of 
the  pastor  and  two  delegates  from  each  church  or 
parish  in  the  Unitarian  denomination,  to  meet  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  to  consider  the  interests  of  our  cause 
and  to  institute  measures  for  its  good."  The  two  reso- 
lutions were  unanimously  adopted,  pledging  the  de- 
nomination to  raise  $100,000,  and  to  the  holding  of  a 
delegate  convention  in  New  York.  The  president 
appointed,  as  members  of  the  committee  of  arrange- 
ments for  the  convention.  Rev.  Henry  W.  Bellows, 
Messrs.  A.  A.  Low,  U.  A.  Murdock,  Henry  P.  Kidder, 
Atherton  Blight,  Enoch  Pratt,  and  Artemas  Carter, 
Rev.  Edward  E.  Hale,  and  Rev.  Charles  H.  Brigham. 

The  convention  in  New  York  was  not  waited  for  in 
order  to  make  an  effort  to  secui-e  the  $100,000  it  was 
proposed  to  raise ;  and  early  in  January  the  president 
of  the  Association,  Dr.  Rufus  P.  Stebbins,  was  author- 
ized to  devote  his  whole  time  to  securing  that  sum. 
A  circular  was  sent  to  the  churches  saying  that  such  a 
sum  "  was  needed,  and  should  and  could  be  raised." 
"  The  hour  has  come,"  said  the  executive  committee  in 


190  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

their  appeal  to  the  churches,  "  which  the  fathers  longed 
to  see,  but  were  denied  the  sight, —  of  taking  our  true 
position  among  other  branches  of  the  church  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  the  spread  and  establishment  of 
the  Gospel." 

The  response  to  this  call  was  prompt  and  enthusi- 
astic beyond  any  precedent.  The  war  had  made  money 
plentiful,  and  it  came  easily  to  those  who  were  success- 
ful. Great  fortunes  had  been  rapidly  gathered ;  and  the 
country  had  never  known  an  equal  prosperity,  even 
though  the  burden  of  the  war  had  not  yet  been  re- 
moved. In  February  the  president  of  the  Association 
was  able  to  announce  that  $28,871.47  had  been  sub- 
scribed by  twelve  churches.  By  the  end  of  March  the 
pledges  had  reached  $63,862.63 ;  and  when  the  conven- 
tion met  in  New  York,  April  5,  1865,  the  contributions 
then  pledged  were  only  a  few  thousand  dollars  short  of 
the  sum  desired.  By  the  end  of  May  the  sum  reported 
was  $111,676.74,  which  was  increased  by  several  hun- 
dred dollars  more. 

It  was  when  this  success  was  certain  that  the  con- 
vention   met    in    New    York.      The 

,    „,      victory  of  the  Union  cause  was  then 
Convention  of  1865.  -^ 

assured,  and  the  utmost  enthusiasm 
prevailed.  Some  of  the  fuial  and  most  important 
scenes  of  the  great  national  struggle  were  enacted 
while  the  convention  was  in  session.  Courage  and 
hope  ran  high  under  these  circumstances ;  and  the  con- 
vention was  not  only  enthusiastically  loyal  to  the 
nation,  but  equally  so  to  its  own  denominational  in- 
terests. For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  Uni- 
tarian body  in  this  country  the  churches  were  directly 
represented  at  a   general   gathering.     The    number   of 


THE   DENOMINATIONAL   AWAKENING  191 

churches  represented  was  two  hundred  and  two,  and 
they  sent  three  hundred  and  eighty-five  delegates. 
Many  other  persons  attended,  however ;  and  throughout 
all  the  sittings  of  the  convention  the  audience  was  a 
large  one.  Many  women  were  present,  though  not  as 
delegates,  the  men  only  having  official  recognition  in 
this  gathering.  It  is  evident  from  the  records,  the 
newspaper  reports,  and  the  memories  of  those  present, 
that  the  interest  in  this  meeting  was  very  large,  and 
that  the  attendance  was  quite  beyond  what  was  antici- 
pated by  any  one  concerned  in  planning  it.  The  call 
to  all  the  churches,  and  the  giving  them  an  equality  of 
representation  in  the  convention,  was  doubtless  one  of 
the  causes  of  its  success.  As  a  result,  an  able  body  of 
laymen  appeared  in  the  convention,  who  were  accus- 
tomed to  business  methods  and  familiar  with  legisla- 
tive procedure,  and  who  carried  through  the  work  of 
the  convention  with  deliberation  and  skill. 

On  the  first  evening  of  the  convention  a  sermon  was 
preached  by  Dr.  James  Freeman  Clarke  that  was  a 
noble  and  generous  introduction  to  its  deliberations. 
He  called  for  the  exercise  of  the  spirit  of  inclusiveness, 
a  broad  and  tolerant  catholicity,  and  union  on  the  basis 
of  the  work  to  be  done.  On  the  morning  of  April  5, 
1865,  at  eleven  o'clock,  the  convention  met  for  the 
transaction  of  business  in  All  Souls'  Church,  of  which 
Henry  Whitney  Bellows  was  the  minister.  Hon.  John 
A.  Andrew,  then  the  governor  of  Massachusetts,  was 
elected  to  preside  over  the  convention ;  and  among  the 
vice-presidents  were  WilHam  CuUen  Bryant,  Rev.  John 
Gorham  Palfrey,  Hon.  Ebenezer  Rockwood  Hoar,  Rev. 
Orville  Dewey,  and  Rev.  Ezra  Stiles  Gannett,  while 
Rev.    Edward   Everett   Hale  was  made  the  secretary. 


192  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

In  Governor  Andrew  the  convention  had  as  its  presid- 
ing officer  a  man  of  a  broad  and  generous  spirit,  who 
was  insistent  that  the  main  purpose  of  the  meeting 
should  be  kept  always  steadily  in  view,  and  yet  that  all 
the  members  and  all  the  varying  opinions  should  have 
just  recognition.  In  a  large  degree  the  success  of  the 
convention  was  due  to  his  catholicity  and  to  his  skill 
in  reconciling  opposing  interests. 

The  time  of  the  convention  was  devoted  almost 
wholly  to  legislating  for  the  denomination  and  to  plan- 
ning for  its  future  work.  On  the  morning  of  the 
second  day  the  subject  of  organization  came  up  for  con- 
sideration, and  the  committee  selected  for  that  purpose 
presented  a  constitution  providing  for  a  National  Con- 
ference that  should  meet  annually,  and  that  should  be 
constituted  of  the  minister  and  two  lay  delegates  from 
each  church,  together  with  three  delegates  each  from 
the  American  Unitarian  Association,  the  Western  Con- 
ference, and  such  other  bodies  as  might  be  invited  to 
participate  in  its  deliberations.  This  Conference  was  to 
be  only  recommendatory  in  its  character,  adoptmg  "  the 
existing  organizations  of  the  Unitarian  body  as  the 
instruments  of  its  power."  The  name  of  the  new  or- 
ganization was  the  subject  of  some  discussion,  James 
Freeman  Clarke  wishing  to  make  the  Conference  one 
of  Independent  and  Unitarian  churches,  while  another 
delegate  desired  to  substitute  "  free  Christian  "  for  Uni- 
tarian. The  desire  strongly  manifested  by  a  consider- 
able number  to  make  the  Conference  include  in  its 
membership  all  Hberal  churches  of  whatever  name  was 
not  acceptable  to  the  majority  of  the  delegates,  who 
voted  with  a  decided  emphasis  to  organize  strictly  on 
the  Unitarian  basis. 


THE   DENOMINATIONAL   AWAKENING  193 

As  soon  as  the  convention  was  organized,  expression 
was  given  to  the  demand  for  a  doctrinal  basis  for  its  de- 
liberations. Though  several  attempts  were  made  to 
bring  about  the  acceptance  of  a  creed,  these  met  with 
complete  failure.  In  the  preamble  to  the  constitution, 
however,  it  was  asserted  that  the  delegates  were  "  disci- 
ples of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  while  the  first  article  de- 
clared that  the  conference  was  organized  to  promote 
"  the  cause  of  Christian  faith  and  work."  It  was  quite 
evident  that  a  large  majority  of  the  delegates  regarded 
the  convention  as  Christian  in  its  purposes  and  dis- 
tinctly Unitarian  in  its  denominational  mission.  A 
minority  desired  a  platform  that  should  have  no  the- 
ological imphcations,  and  that  should  permit  the  co- 
operation of  every  kind  of  hberal  church.  The  use  of 
the  phrase  Lord  Jesus  Christ  was  strongly  opposed  by 
the  more  radical  section  of  the  convention,  but  the 
members  of  it  were  not  organized  or  ready  to  give 
utterance  to  their  protest  in  an  effective  manner. 

The  convention  gave  its  approval  to  the  efforts  of  the 
Unitarian  Association  to  secure  the  sum  of  $100,000, 
and  urged  the  churches,  that  had  not  already  done  so, 
to  contribute.  It  also  advised  the  securing  of  a  like 
sum  as  an  endowment  for  Antioch  College,  and  com- 
mended to  men  of  wealth  the  needs  of  the  Harvard  and 
jNIeadville  Theological  Schools.  The  council  of  the 
Conference  was  asked  to  give  its  attention  to  the 
necessity  and  duty  of  creating  an  organ  for  the  de- 
nomination, to  be  called  The  Liberal  Christian.  A 
resolution  looking  to  union  with  the  Universahst  body 
was  presented,  and  one  was  passed  declaring  "that 
there  should  be  recognition,  fellowship,  and  co-opera- 
tion between  all   those  various  elements  in  our  popu- 


194  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

lation  that  are  prepared  to  meet  on  the  basis  of  Chris- 
tianity." James  Freeman  Clarke,  Samuel  J.  May,  and 
Robert  CoUyer  were  constituted  a  committee  of  corre- 
spondence, to  promote  acquaintance,  fraternity,  and 
unity  between  Unitarians  and  all  of  like  liberal  faith.* 

*  James  Freeman  Clarke  reported  for  this  committee  at  the  Syracuse 
session  of  18G6,  and  stated  that  its  members  had  conferred  -with  Chris- 
tians, Universalists,  Methodists,  Congregationalists,  and  others.  The 
committee  made  several  suggestions  as  to  what  could  be  done  to  promote 
general  fellowship,  and  recommended  that  the  title  of  the  National  Con- 
ference be  so  changed  as  to  permit  persons  of  other  religious  bodies  to 
find  a  place  within  it,  if  they  so  desired.  The  committee  was  reap- 
pointed ;  and  at  the  third  session  of  the  Conference  it  reported  that  it 
had  visited  the  annual  gatherings  of  the  Universalists,  Methodists,  and 
Free  Religionists,  and  had  been  cordially  welcomed.  They  were  received 
into  the  pulpits  of  different  denominations,  they  found  everywhere  a  cor- 
dial spirit  of  fellowship  and  a  breaking  down  of  sectarian  barriers.  At 
this  session  the  Conference  expressed  its  desire  "to  cultivate  the  most 
friendly  relations  with,  and  to  encourage  fraternal  intercourse  between, 
the  various  liberal  Christian  bodies  in  this  country."  A  committee  of 
three  was  appointed  "  to  represent  our  fraternal  sentiments  and  to 
consider  all  questions  which  relate  to  mutual  intercourse  and  co-oper- 
ation." 

This  committee  reported  through  Edward  E.  Hale  that  it  had  been 
well  received  at  two  Methodist  conferences  and  at  several  state  conven- 
tions of  the  Universalists.  Especially  had  it  been  welcomed  by  the 
African  Methodist  Church,  which  was  the  beginning  of  cordial  relations 
between  the  two  bodies  for  several  years.  The  committee  reported,  how- 
ever, that  "  there  are  but  few  regularly  organized  bodies  in  this  country 
which,  in  their  formal  action,  express  much  desire  for  intercourse  or  co- 
operation wdtli  us  as  an  organized  branch  of  the  church."  A  resolution 
offered  by  the  committee,  expressing  the  desire  of  the  National  Confer- 
ence "to  cultivate  the  most  friendly  relations  with  all  Christian  churches 
and  to  encourage  fraternal  intercourse  between  them,"  was  adopted. 
The  members  of  the  committee  appointed  in  1870  attended  the  session 
of  the  American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  in  1871 ;  and  they  were  re- 
ceived with  courtesy,  Athanase  Coquerel  addressing  the  board  as  their 
representative.  The  committee  reported  that  "in  every  direction,  from 
clergymen  and  laymen  of  different  Protestant  churches,  we  have  received 
informal  expressions  of  what  we  believe  to  be  a  very  general  desire 
that  there  might  be  a  more  formal  and  public  expression  of  the  fellow- 
ship which  undoubtedly  reaUy  exists  between  the  different  Protestant 
communions." 

At  the  session  of  the  National  Conference  held  in  1874  the  councU 
suggested   the    propriety  of  preparing    a  register  of  the  free  or  liberal 


THE    DENOMINATIONAL   AWAKENING  195 

A  resolution  offered  by  William  Cullen  Bryant  expres- 
sive of  thanksgiving  because  of  the  near  approach  of 
peace,  and  for  the  opening  made  by  the  extinction  of 
slavery  for  the  diffusion  of  Christianity  in  its  true 
spirit  as  a  rehgion  of  love,  mercy,  and  universal  lib- 
erty, was  unanimously  adopted   by  a  rising  vote. 

The  convention  was  a  remarkable  success  in  the 
number  who  attended  its  sessions,  the  character  of  the 
men  who  participated  in  its  deliberations,  and  the  skill 
with  which  the  unsectarian  sect  had  been  organized 
for  effective  co-operation  and  work.  Its  influence  was 
immediately  felt  throughout  the  denomination  and 
upon  all  its  activities.  The  change  in  attitude  was 
very  great,  and  the  depressed  and  discouraged  tone  of 
many  Unitarian  utterances  for  a  number  of  years  pre- 
ceding and  following  1860  gave  way  to  one  of  enthu- 
siasm and  courage.f 

cburchea  of  the  world,  and  it  enumerated  the  various  bodies  that  might 
be  properly  included  ;  but  no  action  was  taken  on  this  recommendation. 
At  this  session  an  amendment  to  the  by-laws,  offered  by  Dr.  Hale,  was 
adopted,  providing  for  a  fellowship  committee  with  other  churches.  This 
committee  was  not  appointed,  and  the  amendment  was  not  printed  in 
its  proper  place  in  the  report.  Apparently,  the  interest  in  efforts  of  this 
kind  had  exhausted  itself,  partly  because  any  active  co-operation  with 
the  more  conservative  churches  was  impossible,  and  partly  because  the 
growth  of  denominational  feeling  directed  the  energies  of  the  National 
Conference  into  other  channels. 

jThe  sessions  of  the  National  Conference  have  been  held  as  fol- 
lows: 1,  New  York,  April  5-6,  1805;  2,  Syracuse,  October  10-11,  1866; 
3,  New  York,  October  7-9,  18G8 ;  4,  New  York,  October  19-21,  1870; 
5,  Boston,  October  22-25,  1872 ;  6,  Saratoga,  September  15-18,  1874 ;  7, 
Saratoga,  September  12-15,  1876 ;  8,  Saratoga,  September  17-20,  1878 ;  9, 
Saratoga,  September  21-24,  1880;  10,  Saratoga,  September  18-22,  1882; 
11,  Saratoga,  September  22-2(),  1884 ;  12,  Saratoga,  September  20-24, 
1886 ;  13,  Philadelphia,  October  28-31,  1889 ;  14,  Saratoga,  September 
21-25,  1891  ;  15,  Saratoga,  September  24-27,  1894 ;  16,  Washington,  Octo- 
ber 21-24,  1895 ;  17,  Saratoga,  September  20-23,  1897  ;  18,  Washington, 
October  16-19,  1899;  19,  Saratoga,  September  23,  1901.  A  meeting  was 
held  in  Chicago,  in  1893,  in  connection  with  the  Parliament  of  Keligions. 


196  UNITAEIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  Unitarian  Asssociation, 
that  soon  followed,  felt  the  new  stir  of  life, 
New  Life  in  ^^(j  ^^le  awakening  to  a  larger  consciousness 
Association.  ^^  power.  The  chief  attention  was  directed 
to  meeting  the  new  opportunities  that  had 
been  presented,  and  to  preparing  for  the  larger  work 
required.  Dr.  Rufus  P.  Stebbins,  who  had  been  for 
three  years  the  president,  and  who  had  been  actively 
instrumental  in  securing  the  large  accession  to  the  con- 
tributions of  the  year,  was  elected  secretary,  with  the 
intent  that  he  should  devote  himself  to  pushing  forward 
the  missionary  enterprises  of  the  Association.  He  re- 
fused to  serve,  and  accepted  the  position  only  until  his 
successor  could  be  secured.  In  a  few  weeks  the  execu- 
tive committee  elected  Rev.  Charles  Lowe  to  this  office, 
and  he  immediately  entered  upon  its  duties.  He  proved 
to  be  eminently  fitted  for  the  place  by  his  enthusiastic 
interest  in  the  work  to  be  accomplished,  and  by  his  skill 
as  an  organizer.  His  catholicity  of  mind  enabled  him  to 
concihate,  as  far  as  this  was  possible,  the  conservative  and 
radical  elements  in  the  denomination,  and  to  imite  them 

The  presidents  of  the  National  Conference  have  been  Hon.  John  A.  An- 
drew, who  served  in  1866  ;  Hon.  Thomas  D.  Eliot,  whose  term  of  service 
lasted  to  1869 ;  Judge  Ebenezer  R.  Hoar,  from  1869  to  1878,  and  again  from 
1882  to  1884 ;  Hon.  John  D.  Long,  from  1878  to  1882  ;  Judge  Samuel  F. 
Miller,  1884  to  1891  ;  Mr.  George  William  Curtis,  1891  to  1894 ;  and  Hon. 
George  F.  Hoar,  1894  to  1901.  Hon.  Carroll  D.  Wright  was  elected 
to  the  office  in  1901.  The  secretaries  have  been  Rev.  Edward  Everett 
Hale,  Rev.  George  Batchelor,  Rev.  Russell  N.  Bellows,  Rev.  William 
H.  Lyon,  and  Rev.  Daniel  W.  Morehouse.  The  first  chairman  of 
the  council  was  Rev.  Henry  W.  Bellows,  D.D.,  who  served  to  1872,  and 
again  from  1876  to  1878;  Professor  Charles  Carroll  Everett,  D.D,,  from 
1874  to  187G;  Rev.  Edward  Everett  Hale,  D.D.,  from  1880  to  1882,  and 
from  1891  to  1894;  Rev.  James  De  Normandie,  D.D.,  from  1884  to  1889; 
Rev.  Brooke  Herford,  D.D.,  from  1889  to  1891 ;  Rev.  George  Batchelor, 
from  1894  to  1895  ;  Rev.  Minot  J.  Savage,  D.D.,  from  1895  to  1899 ;  and 
Rev.  Howard  N.  Brown,  from  the  later  year  to  1901,  when  Rev.  Thomas  R. 
Slicer  was  elected. 


THE    DENOMINATIONAL   AWAKENING  197 

into  an  effective  working  body.  Educated  at  Harvard 
College  and  Divinity  School,  Lowe  spent  two  years  as  a 
tutor  in  the  college,  and  then  was  settled  successively 
over  parishes  in  New  Bedford,  Salem,  and  Somerville. 
His  experience  and  skill  as  an  army  agent  of  the  Asso- 
ciation suggested  his  fitness  for  the  larger  sphere  of 
labor  into  which  he  was  now  inducted.  For  six  most 
difficult  and  trying  years  he  successfully  conducted  the 
affairs  of  the  Association. 

For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  Association  its 
income  was  such  as  to  enable  it  to  plan  its  work  on  a 
large  scale,  and  in  some  degree  commensurate  with  its 
opportunities.  During  the  year  and  a  half  preceding 
the  first  of  June,  1866,  there  was  contributed  to  the 
Association  about  1175,000,  to  Antioch  College  $103,- 
000,  to  the  Boston  Fraternity  of  Churches  $22,920,  to 
the  Children's  Mission  $42,000,  to  the  Freedman's  Aid 
Societies  $30,000,  to  the  Sunday  School  Society  $2,500, 
to  The  Christian  Register  $15,000,  and  to  the  Western 
Conference  $6,000,  making  a  total  of  about  $400,000 
given  by  the  denomination  to  these  religious,  educa- 
tional, and  philanthropic  purposes;  and  this  financial 
success  was  truly  indicative  of  the  new  interest  in  its 
work  that  had  come  to  the  Unitarian  body. 

Although  the  New  York  convention  voted  that  $100,- 

000  ought  to  be  raised  m  1866,  because 

,  ^  ,*^  .,.^°'  the  needs  of  the  denomination  demanded 
logical  Position. 

it,  yet  only  $60,000  were  secured.  The 
reaction  that  followed  the  close  of  the  war  had  set  in, 
the  financial  prosperity  of  the  comitry  had  begun  to 
lessen,  and  the  enthusiasm  that  had  made  the  first  great 
effort  of  the  denomination  so  eminently  successful  did 
not  continue.      A  chief  cause  for  the  waning  interest  in 


198  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

the  denomination  itself  was  the  agitation  in  regard  to 
the  theological  position  of  the  Unitarian  body  that 
began  almost  immediately  after  the  New  York  conven- 
tion. 

The  older  Unitarians  held  to  the  Bible  and  the 
teachings  of  Jesus  as  the  great  sources  of  spiritual 
truth  as  strongly  as  did  the  orthodox,  and  they  dif- 
fered from  them  only  as  to  the  purport  of  the  mes- 
sage conveyed.  This  may  be  seen  in  a  creed  offered 
to  the  New  York  convention,  by  a  prominent  layman,* 
almost  immediately  after  it  was  opened  on  the  first  morn- 
ing. In  this  proposed  creed  it  was  asserted  that  Unita- 
rians believe  "in  one  Lord,  Jesus  Christ;  the  Son  of 
God  and  his  specially  appointed  messenger  and  repre- 
sentative to  our  race ;  gifted  with  supernatural  power, 
approved  of  God  by  miracles  and  signs  and  wonders 
which  God  did  by  him,  and  thus  by  divine  authority 
commanding  the  devout  and  reverential  faith  of  all  who 
claim  the  Christian  name."  Although  this  creed  was 
not  adopted  by  the  convention,  it  expressed  the  belief  of 
a  majority  of  Unitarians.  To  the  same  purport  was  the 
word  spoken  by  Dr.  Bellows,  when  he  said:  "Unitari- 
ans of  the  school  to  which  I  belong  accept  Jesus  Christ 
with  all  their  hearts  as  the  Sent  of  God,  the  divinely  in- 
spired Son  of  the  Father,  who  by  his  miraculously 
proven  ofiQce  and  his  sinless  life  and  character  was  fitted 
to  be  and  was  made  revealer  of  the  universal  and  per- 
manent religion  of  the  human  race."  f  These  quotar 
tions  indicate  that  the  more  conservative  Unitarians  had 

*  A.  A.  Low,  a  member  of  the  first  Unitarian  congregation  in  Brooklyn, 
N.Y. 

t  Lecture  delivered  in  Cooper  Institute,  New  York,  on  Unitarian  Views 
of  Christ,  published  in  The  Christian  Examiner,  November,  1866,  xxxi. 
310. 


THE   DENOMINATIONAL   AWAKENING  199 

not  changed  their  position  since  1853,  when  they  made 
official  statement  of  their  acceptance  of  Christianity  as 
authenticated  by  miracles  and  the  supernatural.  In 
fact,  they  held  essentially  to  the  attitude  taken  when 
they  left  the  older  Congregational  body. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  transcendentahsts  and  the 
radical  Unitarians  proposed  a  new  theory  of  the  nat- 
ure of  rehgious  truth,  and  insisted  that  the  spiritual 
message  of  Christianity  is  inward,  and  not  outward, 
directly  to  the  soul  of  man,  and  not  through  the  me- 
diation of  a  person  or  a  book.  Almost  from  the  first 
Channing  had  been  moving  towards  this  newer  con- 
ception of  the  native  and  method  of  religion.  He 
did  not  wholly  abandon  the  miraculous,  but  it  grew 
to  have  less  significance  for  him  with  each  year. 
The  Unitarian  conception  of  religion  as  natural  to 
man,  which  was  maintained  strenuously  from  the  time 
of  Jonathan  Mayhew,  made  it  probable,  if  not  certain, 
that  a  merely  external  system  of  religion  would  be 
ultimately  outgrown.  In  his  lecture  on  self-denial 
Channing  stated  this  position  in  the  clearest  terms. 
"If,"  he  said,  "after  a  dehberate  and  impartial  use 
of  our  best  faculties,  a  professed  revelation  seems  to 
us  plainly  to  disagree  with  itself  or  to  clash  with 
great  prmciples  which  we  cannot  question,  we  ought 
not  to  hesitate  to  withhold  from  it  our  behef.  I  am 
surer  that  my  rational  nature  is  from  God,  than  that 
any  book  is  an  expression  of  his  will.  This  light  in 
my  own  breast  is  his  primary  revelation,  and  all  sub- 
sequent ones  must  accord  with  it,  and  are  in  fact  in- 
tended to  blend  with  and  brighten  it."  * 

Channing  was   not  alone  in    accepting    Christianity 

*  Works,  iv.  110. 


200  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

as  a  spiritual  principle  that  is  natural  and  universal. 
As  early  as  1826  Alvan  Lamson  had  defended  the 
proposition  that  miracles  are  merely  local  in  their  nat- 
ure, and  that  attention  should  be  chiefly  given  to  the 
tendency,  spirit,  and  object  of  Christianity.  He  claimed 
that  it  bore  on  the  face  of  it  the  marks  of  its  heavenly 
origin,  and  that,  when  these  are  fully  accepted,  no  other 
form  of  evidence  is  required.*  In  1834  James  Walker, 
in  writing  on  The  Philosophy  of  Man's  Spiritual  Nature 
in  regard  to  the  Foundations  of  Faith,  had  taken  what 
was  essentially  the  transcendentahst  view  of  the  origin 
and  nature  of  religion.  He  contended  for  the  "relig- 
ion in  the  soul"  that  is  authenticated  "by  the  reve- 
lations of  consciousness."  f  In  1836  Convers  Francis, 
in  describing  the  religion  of  Christ  as  a  purely  internal 
principle,  maintained  the  "  quiet,  spirit-searching  char- 
acter of  Christianity,"  as  "  a  kingdom  wholly  within  the 
soul  of  man."  :j: 

When  Convers  Francis  became  a  professor  in  the 
Harvard  Divinity  School,  in  1842,  the  spiritual  philos- 
ophy had  recognition  there ;  and  he  had  a  considerable 
influence  upon  the  young  men  who  came  under  his 
guidance.  Though  of  the  older  way  of  thinking, 
George  R.  Noyes,  who  became  a  professor  in  the 
school  in  1840,  was  always  on  .the  side  of  liberty  of 
interpretation  and  expression.  For  the  next  two  dec- 
ades the  Divinity  School  sent  out  a  succession  of  such 
men  as  John  Weiss,  Octavius  B.  Frothingham,  Samuel 
Longfellow,  WilHam  J.  Potter,  and  Francis  E.  Abbot, 
who  were  joined  by  Wilham  Henry  Channing,  Samuel 

'The  Christian  Examiner,  March-April,  1S2C>,  iii.  136. 

t  First  Series  of  Tracts  of  A.  U.  A.,  No.  87. 

t  First  Series  of  A.  U.  A.  Tracts,  No.  105,  April,  1836. 


THE   DENOMINATIONAL   AWAKENING  201 

Johnson,  David  A.  Wasson,  and  others,  who  did  not 
study  there.  These  men  gave  a  new  meaning  to  Unita- 
rianism,  took  it  away  from  miracles  to  nature,  discarded 
its  evidences  to  rely  on  intuition,  rejected  its  supernat- 
ural deity  for  an  immanent  God  who  speaks  through  all 
life  his  divine  word. 

Durmg  the  interval  between  the  New  York  conven- 
tion and  the  first  session  of  the  National  Conference, 
which  was  held  in  Syracuse,  October  10-11,  1866,  the 
questions  which  separated  the  conservatives  and  rad- 
icals were  freely  debated  in  the  periodicals  of  the  de- 
nomination, and  also  in  sermons  and  pamphlets.  The 
radicals  organized  for  securing  a  revision  of  the  consti- 
tution; and  on  the  morning  of  the  first  day  Francis  E. 
Abbot,  then  the  minister  at  Dover,  N.H.,  offered  a  new 
preamble  and  first  article  as  substitutes  for  those  adopted 
in  New  York,  in  which  he  stated  that  "  the  object  of 
Christianity  is  the  universal  diffusion  of  love,  righteous- 
ness, and  truth,"  that  "perfect  freedom  of  thought, 
which  is  at  once  the  right  and  duty  of  every  human 
being,  always  leads  to  diversity  of  opinion,  and  is  there- 
fore hindered  by  common  creeds  or  statements  of  faith," 
and  that  therefore  the  churches  assembled  in  the  confer- 
ence, "disregarding  all  sectarian  or  theological  differ- 
ences, and  offering  a  cordial  fellowsliip  to  all  who  will 
join  them  in  Christian  work,  unite  themselves  in  a  com- 
mon body,  to  be  known  as  The  National  Conference  of 
Unitarian  and  Independent  Churches." 

At  the  afternoon  session  Mr.  Abbot's  amendment  was 
rejected;  but  on  the  motion  of  James  Freeman  Clarke 
the  name  was  changed  to  The  National  Conference  of 
Unitarian  and  Other  Christian  Churches.  A  resolution 
stating  that  the  expression  "  Other  Christian  Chiirches 


202  UNITARIANISM   IN   AJMERICA 

was  not  meant  to  exclude  religious  societies  which  have 
no  distinctive  church  organization,  and  are  not  nomi- 
nally Christian,  if  they  desire  to  co-operate  with  the 
Conference  in  what  it  regards  as  Christian  work,"  was 
laid  on  the  table. 

The  result  of  the  refusal  at  Syracuse  to  revise  the 

constitution  of  the  National  Conference 

Organization  of       ^^g  ^^ioi  the  radical  men  on  the  railroad 

A       •  ♦•^^  train  returning  to  Boston  held  a  consul- 

Association.  >=> 

tation,  and  resolved  to  organize  an  asso- 
ciation that  would  secure  them  the  liberty  they  desired. 
After  correspondence  and  much  planning  a  meeting  was 
held  in  Boston,  at  the  house  of  Rev.  Cyrus  A.  Bartol, 
on  February  5,  1867,  to  consider  what  should  be  done. 
After  a  thorough  discussion  of  the  subject  the  Free  Re- 
ligious Association  was  planned ;  and  the  organization 
was  perfected  at  a  meeting  held  in  Horticultural  Hall, 
Boston,  May  30,  1867.  Some  of  those  who  took  part 
in  this  movement  thought  that  all  religion  had  been  out- 
grown, but  the  majority  believed  that  it  is  essential  and 
eternal.  What  they  sought  was  to  remove  its  local  and 
national  elements,  and  to  get  rid  of  its  merely  sectarian 
and  traditional  features. 

At  the  first  meetiug  the  speakers  were  O.  B.  Froth- 
ingham,  Henry  Blanchard,  Lucretia  Mott,  Robert  Dale 
Owen,  John  Weiss,  Oliver  Johnson,  Francis  E.  Abbot, 
David  A.  Wasson,  T.  W.  Higginson,  and  R.  W.  Emer- 
son; and  discussion  was  participated  in  by  A.  B.  Alcott, 
E.  C.  Towne,  Frank  B.  Sanborn,  Hannah  E.  Stevenson, 
Ednah  D.  Cheney,  Charles  C.  Burleigh,  and  Caroline  H. 
Dall.  Of  these  persons,  one-half  had  been  Unitarian 
ministers,  and  about  one-third  of  them  were  still  settled 
over  Unitarian  parishes.     Mr.  Frothingham  was  elected 


THE   DENOMINATIONAL   AWAKENING  203 

president  of  the  new  organization,  and  Rev.  William  J. 
Potter  secretary.  The  purposes  of  the  Association  were 
"  to  promote  the  interests  of  pure  religion,  to  encourage 
the  scientific  study  of  theology  and  to  increase  fellow- 
ship in  the  spirit."  In  1872  the  constitution  was  re- 
vised by  changing  the  subject  of  study  from  theology  to 
man's  religious  nature  and  history,  and  by  the  addition 
of  the  statement  that  "  nothing  in  the  name  or  constitu- 
tion of  the  Association  shall  ever  be  construed  as  limitr 
ing  membership  by  any  test  of  speculative  opinion  or 
behef, —  or  as  defining  the  position  of  the  Association, 
collectively  considered,  with  reference  to  any  such  opin- 
ion or  belief, —  or  as  interfering  in  any  other  way  with 
that  absolute  freedom  of  thought  and  expression  which 
is  the  natural  right  of  every  rational  being." 

The  original  purpose  of  the  Free  ReHgious  Associa- 
tion, as  defined  in  its  constitution  and  in  the  addresses 
delivered  before  it,  was  the  recognition  of  the  univer- 
sality of  rehgion,  and  the  representation  of  all  phases 
of  religious  opinion  in  its  membership  and  on  its  plat- 
form. The  circumstances  of  its  organization,  however, 
in  some  measure  took  it  away  from  tliis  broader  posi- 
tion, and  made  it  the  organ  of  the  radical  Unitarian 
opinion.  Those  Unitarians  who  did  not  find  in  the 
American  Unitarian  Association  and  the  National  Con- 
ference such  fellowship  as  they  desired  became  active 
in  the  Free  Religious  organization. 

The  cause  of  Free  Rehgion  was  ably  presented  in  the 
pages  of  The  Radical,  a  monthly  journal  edited  by 
Sidney  H.  Morse,  and  published  in  Boston,  and  The 
Index,  edited  by  Francis  E.  Abbot,  at  first  in  Toledo 
and  then  in  Boston.  It  also  found  expression  at  the 
Sunday  afternoon  meetings  held  in  Horticultural  Hall, 


204  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

Boston,  for  several  winters,  beginning  in  1868-69  •,  in 
the  conventions  held  in  several  of  the  leading  cities  of 
the  northern  states ;  at  the  gatherings  of  the  Chestnut 
Street  Club;  and  in  the  annual  meetings  of  the  Free 
Religious  Association  held  in  Boston  during  anniversary- 
week.  Little  effort  was  made  to  organize  churches,  and 
only  two  or  three  came  into  existence  distinctly  on  the 
basis  of  Free  Religion.  In  connection  with  The  Index, 
Francis  E.  Abbot  organized  the  Liberal  League  to  pro- 
mote the  interests  of  Free  Rehgion,  with  about  four 
hundred  local  branches;  but  this  organization  proved 
ineffective,  and  soon  ceased  its  existence. 

The  withdrawal  of  the  radicals  into  the  Free  Religious 
Association  did  not  quiet  the  agitation  in  the  Unitarian 
ranks,  partly  because  some  of  the  most  active  workers 
in  that  Association  continued  to  occupy  Unitarian  pul- 
pits, and  partly  because  a  considerable  radical  element 
did  not  withdraw  in  any  manner.  The  conferences  had 
an  unfailing  subject  for  exciting  discussion,  and  the 
Unitarian  body  was  at  this  time  in  a  chronic  condition 
of  agitation.  As  in  the  days  of  the  controversy  about 
the  Trinity,  the  more  conservative  ministers  would  not 
exchange  pulpits  with  the  more  radical. 

At  the  second  session  of  the  National  Conference, 
held  in  New  York  City,  October  7-9,  1868, 
Unsuccessful  another  attempt  was  made  to  bring  about 
Reconciliation  ^  reconciliation  between  the  two  wings  of 
the  denomination.  In  an  attitude  of  gener- 
ous good  will  and  with  a  noble  desire  for  inclusiveness 
and  peace,  James  Freeman  Clarke  proposed  an  addition 
to  the  constitution  of  the  Conference,  in  which  it  was 
declared  "that  we  heartily  welcome  to  that  fellowship 
all  who  desire  to  work  with  us  in  advancing  the  king- 


THE    DENOMINATIONAL   AWAKENING  205 

dom  of  God."  Such  a  broad  invitation  was  not  accept- 
able to  the  majority;  and,  after  an  extended  debate, 
this  amendment  was  withdrawn,  and  the  following, 
offered  by  Edward  Everett  Hale,  and  essentially  the 
same  as  that  presented  by  Mr.  Clarke,  Avith  the  ex- 
ception of  the  phrase  just  quoted,  was  adopted :  — 

To  secure  the  largest  unity  of  the  spirit  and  the 
widest  practical  co-operation,  it  is  hereby  understood 
that  all  the  declarations  of  tliis  conference,  includmg 
the  preamble  and  constitution,  are  expressions  only  of 
its  majority,  and  dependent  wholly  for  their  effect  upon 
the  consent  they  command  on  their  own  merits  from 
the  churches  here  represented  or  belonging  within  the 
circle  of  our  feUowship. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  Unitarian  Association  in 
1870  was  largely  occupied  with  the  vexing  problem  of 
the  basis  of  fellowship;  and  the  secretary,  Charles 
Lowe,  read  a  conciliatory  and  explanatory  address.  He 
said  that  the  wide  differences  of  theological  opinion  ex- 
isting in  the  denomination  were  "  an  mevitable  conse- 
quence of  the  great  principle  on  which  Unitarianism 
rests.  That  principle  is  that  Christian  faith  and 
Christian  union  can  coexist  with  individual  liberty."  * 
Rev.  George  H.  Hepworth,  then  the  minister  of  the 
Church  of  the  Messiah  in  New  York,  asked  for  an 
authoritative  statement  of  the  Unitarian  position,  urg- 
ing this  demand  with  great  insistence ;  and  he  pre- 
sented a  resolution  calhng  for  a  committee  of  five  to 
prepare  "  a  statement  of  faith,  which  shall,  as  nearly  as 
may  be,  represent  the  reUgious  opinions  of  the  Uni- 
tarian denomination." 

While  Dr.  Bellows  had  been  the  leader  in  securing 

*  Forty-fifth  Annual  Rpjiort  of  the  American  Unitarian  Association, 
11, 14. 


206  IJNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

the  adoption  of  the  Christian  basis  for  the  National 
Conference,  and  the  insertion  into  the  preamble  of  its 
constitution  of  the  expression  of  faith  in  the  Lordsliip 
of  Jesus  Clirist,  he  was  strongly  opposed  to  any  attempt 
to  impose  a  creed  upon  the  denomination,  however  at- 
tenuated it  might  be.  He  has  been  often  charged  with 
inconsistency,  and  it  is  difficult  to  reconcile  his  position 
in  1870  with  that  held  in  1865.  What  he  attempted 
to  secure,  however,  was  the  utmost  of  liberty  possible 
within  the  limits  of  Christianity ;  and,  when  lie  had 
committed  the  Unitarian  body  to  the  Christian  position, 
he  desired  nothing  more,  believing  that  a  creed  would 
be  inconsistent  with  the  liberty  enjoyed  by  all  Unita- 
rians. Without  doubt  his  address  at  this  meeting,  in 
opposition  to  Mr.  Hepworth's  proposal,  made  it  impos- 
sible to  secure  a  vote  in  favor  of  a  creed.  "  We  want 
to  represent  a  body,"  he  said,  "  that  presents  itself  to 
the  forming  hand  of  the  Almighty  Spirit  of  God  in  a 
fluid,  plastic  form.  We  cannot  keep  our  denomination 
in  that  state,  and  yet  give  it  the  character  of  being  cast 
into  a  positive  mould.  You  must  either  abandon  that 
great  work  you  have  done,  as  the  only  body  in  Clmsten- 
dom  that  occupies  the  position  of  absolute  and  perfect 
hberty,  with  some  measure  of  Christian  faith,  or  you 
must  continue  to  occupy  that  position  and  thank  God 
for  it  without  hankering  after  some  immediate  victories 
that  are  so  strong  a  temptation  to  many  in  our  denomi- 
nation." When  the  resolution  in  favor  of  a  creed  was 
brought  to  a  vote,  it  was  "  defeated  by  a  very  large 
majorit3\"  By  this  act  the  Unitarian  body  again 
asserted  its  Christian  position,  but  refused  to  define  or 
to  limit  its  Christianity. 

Notwithstanding  the  refusal  of  the  Unitarian  Asso- 


THE   DENOimNATIONAL   AWAKENING  207 

ciation  to  adopt  a  creed,  the  attempt  to  secure  one  was 
renewed  in  the  National  Conference  with  as  much 
energy  as  if  this  were  not  already  a  lost  cause.  At  the 
session  held  in  New  York,  October,  1870,  the  subject 
came  up  for  extended  consideration,  several  amend- 
ments to  the  constitution  were  proposed,  and,  after  a 
prolonged  discussion,  that  offered  by  George  H.  Hep- 
worth  was  adopted :  — 

Reaflfirming  our  allegiance  to  the  Gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  desiring  to  secure  the  largest  unity  of  the 
spirit  and  the  widest  practical  co-operation,  we  invite 
to  our  fellowship  all  who  wish  to  be  followers  of  Christ. 

One  result  of  this  controversy  was  that  in  1873  it 
having  come  to  the  attention  of  Rev.  O.  B. 
Controversy  °  Frothingham,  the  president  of  the  Free 
Rehgious  Association,  that  his  name  was 
in  the  list  of  Unitarian  ministers  pubhshed  in  the  Year 
Book  of  the  Unitarian  Association,  he  expressed  sur- 
prise that  it  should  have  been  continued  there,  and 
asked  for  its  removal.  The  same  action  was  taken  by 
Francis  E.  Abbot,  the  editor  of  The  Index,  and  others 
of  the  radicals.  This  action  was  in  part  the  result  of  the 
attitude  taken  by  Rev.  Thomas  J.  Mumford,  editor  of 
The  Christian  Register,  who  in  1872  insisted  that  the 
word  "  Religious  "  had  no  proper  place  in  the  name  of 
the  Free  Religious  Association,  and  who  invited  those 
Unitarians  "  who  have  ceased  to  accept  Jesus  as  pre-emi- 
nently their  spiritual  leader  and  teacher  "  to  withdraw 
from  the  Unitarian  body. 

In  November,  1873,  Mr.  George  W.  Fox,  the  assist- 
ant secretary  of  the  Unitarian  Association  and  the 
editor  of  its  Year  Book,  wrote  to  several  of  the  radicals, 


208  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

calling  their  attention  to  the  action  of  Mr.  Frothingham 
in  requesting  the  removal  of  his  name,  and  asked  if 
their  names  remained  in  that  publication  "with  their 
knowledge  and  consent."  In  a  subsequent  letter  to 
William  J.  Potter,  the  minister  of  the  Unitarian  church 
in  New  Bedford  and  the  secretary  of  the  Free  Religious 
Association,  he  explained  that  "  the  Year  Book  lists  of 
societies  and  ministers  are  simply  a  directory,  prepared 
by  the  Association  for  the  accommodation  of  the  denom- 
ination, and  that  the  Association  does  not  undertake  to 
decide  the  question  as  to  what  are  or  are  not  Unitarian 
societies  or  ministers,  but  merely  puts  into  print  facts, 
in  the  making  of  which  it  assumes  no  responsibility  and 
has  no  agency." 

Mr.  Potter  expressed  his  purpose  not  to  ask  for  the 
removal  of  his  name,  but  wrote  that  he  did  not  call 
himself  a  Unitarian  Christian  or  by  any  denominational 
name.  The  officers  of  the  Association  thereupon  in- 
structed the  editor  of  the  Year  Book  to  remove  Mr. 
Potter's  name  from  the  list  of  Unitarian  ministers  pub- 
lished therein.  The  reason  for  this  action  was  stated 
in  a  letter  from  the  editor  to  Mr.  Potter,  amiouncing 
that  his  name  had  been  removed.  The  letter  said, 
"  While  there  might  be  no  desire  to  define  Christianity 
in  the  case  of  those  who  claim  that  they  are  in  any 
sense  of  the  term  entitled  to  be  called  Christians,  for 
those  persons  who,  like  yourself,  disavow  the  name, 
there  seems  to  be  no  need  of  raising  any  question  as  to 
how  broad  a  range  of  opinion  the  name  may  properly 
be  stretched  to  cover."  * 

There  followed  a  vigorous  discussion  of  the  action  of 

*  This  correspondence  waa  published  in  full  in  The  Christian  Register 
for  December  13  and  20, 1873,  Mr.  Potter's  letter  protesting  against  the 
action  of  the  Association  being  printed  on  the  later  date. 


THE   DENOMINATIONAL   AWAKENING  209 

the  Association  in  dropping  Mr.  Potter's  name,  it  being 
recognized  that  no  more  thoroughly  religious  man  was 
to  be  found  in  the  denomination,  and  that  none  more 
truly  exemplified  the  Christian  spirit,  whatever  might 
be  his  wish  as  to  the  use  of  the  Christian  name.  At 
the  sixth  session  of  the  National  Conference,  held  at 
Saratoga  in  September,  1874,  the  Essex  Conference 
protested  against  the  erasure  of  the  name  of  a  church 
in  long  and  regular  fellowship  with  the  Unitarian  Asso- 
ciation from  its  Year  Book ;  and  a  resolution  offered  by 
Dr.  Bellows,  indorsing  the  action  of  the  officers  of  the 
National  Conference  in  inviting  the  New  Bedford  church 
to  send  delegates,  was  passed  without  dissent.  At  the 
session  of  the  Western  Conference  held  in  Chicago 
during  1875,  resolutions  were  passed  protesting  against 
the  removing  of  the  name  of  any  person  from  the  ac- 
credited list  of  Unitarian  ministers  mitil  he  requested 
it,  had  left  the  denomination,  joined  some  other  sect,  or 
been  adjudged  guilty  of  immorality.  As  a  result  of 
this  discussion  and  of  the  broad  sympathies  and  inclu- 
sive spirit  of  the  conference,  the  following  platform,  in 
the  shape  of  a  resolution,  was  adopted :  — 

That  the  Western  Unitarian  Conference  conditions 
its  fellowship  on  no  dogmatic  tests,  but  welcomes  all 
thereto  who  desire  to  work  with  it  in  advancing  the 
kingdom  of  God. 

The  attitude  of  the  Unitarian  Association  and  the 
National  Conference  —  that  is,  of  a  large  majority  of  Uni- 
tarians at  this  time  —  may  be  accurately  defined  in  the 
words  of  Charles  Lowe,  who  said :  "  I  admit  that  we 
make  a  belief  in  Christianity  a  test  of  fellowship.  No 
stretch  of  liberality  will  make  me  wish  to  deny  that  a 
belief  in  Jesus  Christ  is  the  absolutely  essential  quali- 


210  UNITAKIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

fication.  But  I  will  oppose,  as  a  test,  any  definition  of 
Christianity,  any  words  about  Christ,  for  Christ  himself, 
as  the  principles  of  our  fellowship  and  union."  *  These 
words  exactly  define  what  was  sought  for,  which  was 
liberty  within  the  limits  of  Cliristianity.  The  primary 
insistence  was  upon  discipleship  to  Jesus  Christ,  but  it 
was  maintained  that  loyalty  to  Christ  is  compatible  with 
the  largest  degree  of  personal  liberty. 

Fundamentally,  this  controversy  was  a  continuation 
of  that  which  had  agitated  New  England  from  the  be- 
ginning, that  had  divided  those  opposed  to  "  the  great 
awakening"  of  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century 
from  those  who  favored  it,  that  led  the  Unitarians  away 
from  the  Orthodox,  and  that  now  divided  radical  and 
conservative  Unitarians.  The  advance  was  always 
towards  a  more  pronounced  assertion  of  individualism, 
and  a  more  positive  rejection  of  tradition,  organization, 
and  external  authority.  Indeed,  it  was  towards  this 
end  that  Unitarianism  had  directed  its  energies  from 
the  beginning ;  and  the  force  of  this  tendency  could  not 
be  overcome  because  some  called  for  a  creed,  and  more 
had  come  to  see  the  need  of  an  efficient  organization  for 
practical  purposes. 

What  the  radicals  desired  was  freedom,  and  the 
broadest  assertion  of  individuality.  It  was  maintained 
by  Francis  E.  Abbot  that  "  the  spiritual  ideal  of  Free 
Religion  is  to  develop  the  individuahty  of  the  soul  in 
the  highest,  fullest,  and  most  independent  manner  pos- 
sible." f  The  other  distinctive  principle  of  the  radicals 
was  that  rehgion  is  universal,  that  all  religions  are 
essentially  the    same,   and  that  Christianity  is  simply 

*  Memoir  of  Charles  Lowe,  454,  458. 

t  Freedom  and  Fellowship  in  Religion,  261. 


THE    DENOMINATIONAL  AWAKENING  211 

one  of  the  phases  of  universal  religion.  David  A.  Was- 
son  defined  rehgion  as  "  the  consciousness  of  universal 
relation,"  *  and  as  "  the  sense  of  unity  with  the  infinite 
whole,"  adding  that  "morals,  reason,  freedom,  are  boimd 
up  with  it."  f  This  means,  in  simple  statement,  that 
religion  is  natural  to  man,  and  that  it  needs  no  authen- 
tication by  miracle  or  supernatural  manifestation.  It 
means  that  all  religions  are  essentially  the  same  in  their 
origin,  and  that  none  can  claim  the  special  favor  of  God 
in  their  mamier  of  presentation  to  the  world.  Accord- 
ing to  this  conception  of  rehgion,  as  was  stated  by 
William  J.  Potter,  Christianity  is  "  provisional,  prepar- 
atory, educational,  containing,  alongside  of  the  most 
valuable  truth,  much  that  is  only  human  error  and  big- 
otry and  superstitious  imagination." J  "The  spiritual 
ideal  of  Christianity,"  said  Francis  E.  Abbot,  "is  the 
suppression  of  self  and  perfect  imitation  of  Jesus  the 
Christ.  The  spiritual  ideal  of  Free  Religion  is  the  de- 
velopment of  self,  and  the  harmonious  education  of  all 
its  powers  to  the  highest  possible  degree."  § 

Through  all  this  controversy  what  was  sought  for 
was  a  method  of  reconcihng  fellowship  with  individu- 
ality of  opinion,  of  estabhshing  a  church  in  which  free- 
dom of  faith  for  the  individual  shall  have  full  recogni- 
tion. In  a  word,  the  Unitarian  body  had  a  conviction 
that  tradition  is  compatible  with  intuition,  institutions 
with  personal  freedom,  and  co-operation  with  individual 
initiative.  The  problems  involved  were  too  large  for 
an  immediate  solution;  and  what  Unitarians  accepted 
was  an  ideal,  and  not  a  fact  fully  reaUzed  in  their  de- 
nominational Hfe.     The  doctrinal  phases  of  the  contro- 

♦  Freedom  and  Fellowship  in  Keligion,  24.        t  Ibid.,  42.        t  Ibid.,  216. 
§  Fifty  Affirmations,  47. 


212  UNITAEIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

versy  have  always  been  subsidiary  to  this  larger  search, 
this  desire  to  give  to  the  individual  all  the  hberty  that 
is  compatible  with  his  co-operation  with  others.  The  re- 
sult of  it  has  been  to  teach  the  Unitarian  body,  in  the 
words  of  Francis  E.  Abbot  at  Syracuse,  in  1866,  that 
"the  only  reconciliation  of  the  duties  of  collective 
Christian  activity  and  individual  freedom  of  thought 
hes  in  an  efficient  organization  for  practical  Christian 
work,  based  rather  on  unity  of  spirit  than  on  uni- 
formity of  belief."  * 

During  this  period  of  controversy,  from  1865  to  1880, 
the    Unitarian   Association   had  at  its   head 

issi  na  y  gg^g^.^j  ^^^q  men,  who  were  actively  interested 
Activities.  '  *' 

in  its  work.     The  president  for  1865-66  was 

Rev.  John  G.  Palfrey ;  and  he  was  succeeded,  in  1867, 

by  Hon.  Thomas  D.  Eliot,  of  New  Bedford,  who  was  in 

both  houses  of  the  Massachusetts  legislature,  and  then 

for  a  number  of  years  in  the  lower  house  of  Congress. 

From    1870   to    1872   the    president   was    Mr.    Henry 

Chapin,  of  Worcester,  an  able  lawyer  and  judge,  loyally 

devoted   to    the    Sunday-school  work   of   his  city  and 

county.     He  was  succeeded  by  Hon.  John  Wells,  chief 

justice    of  the  Supreme  Court  of   Massachusetts,  who 

was  deeply  interested  in  the  church  with  which  he  was 

connected.     In  1876  Mr.  Henry  P.  Kidder  was  elected 

to  this  office, —  a  position  he  held  for  ten  years.     He 

was  prominent  in  the  banking  interests  of  Boston,  gave 

much  attention  to  the  charities  of  the  city,  and  was  an 

efficient  worker  in  the  South  Congregational  Church. 

Rev.  Charles  Lowe,  the  secretary  from  1865  to  1871, 

wisely  directed  the  activities  of  the  Association  through 

the  early  period  of  the  great  awakening  of  the  denomi- 

*  Report  of  the  Second  Meeting  of  the  National  Conference,  20. 


THE   DENOMINATIONAL   AWAEIENING  213 

nation,  and  kept  it  from  going  to  pieces  on  the  Scylla 
and  Cliarybdis  of  creed  and  radicalism.  He  was  fol- 
lowed at  a  most  critical  and  difficult  time  by  Rev.  Rush 
R.  Shippen,  who  continued  to  hold  the  office  until 
1881.  The  reaction  succeeding  the  great  prosperity 
that  followed  the  close  of  the  civil  war  brought  great 
burdens  of  debt  to  many  individuals,  and  to  cities,  states, 
and  the  nation.  These  troubles  distracted  attention 
from  spiritual  interests,  and  joined  with  various  other 
calamities  in  making  this  a  trying  time  for  churches 
and  religious  organizations. 

The  cUscussions  as  to  the  theological  position  of  the 
denomination  naturally  resulted  in  more  or  less  of  dis- 
organization, and  made  it  impossible  to  secure  the  unity 
of  effort  which  is  essential  to  any  positive  missionary 
growth.  In  spite  of  these  drawbacks,  however,  denomi- 
national interests  slowly  advanced.  During  this  period 
the  Unitarian  Association  began  to  receive  a  consider- 
able increase  of  its  fmids  from  legacies, —  a  result  of  its 
enlarged  activities,  and  of  the  new  interest  awakened 
by  the  formation  of  the  National  Conference. 

A  few  facts  may  be  mentioned  to  illustrate  the  never- 
failing  generosity  of  Unitarian  givers  when  specific 
needs  are  presented.  In  October,  1871,  occurred  the 
great  fire  in  Chicago  and  the  burning  of  Unit}'  Church 
in  that  city,  wliich  was  aided  with  $60,000  m  rebuild- 
ing; while  the  Third  Church  and  All  Souls'  were 
helped  liberally  in  passing  through  tliis  crisis.  The 
following  year  the  Boston  fire  crippled  sadly  the  re- 
sources of  the  Association,  and  instead  of  the  $150,000 
asked  for  only  $-42,000  were  received.  Yet  in  1876 
the  church  in  Washington  was  built,  and  $30,000  were 
contributed  to  that  purpose  by  the  denomination.     In 


214  UNITAEIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

1879  the  denomination  gave  'f!56,000  to  free  the  Church 
of  the  Messiah  in  New  York  from  debt.  During  this 
period  $100,000  were  contributed  to  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Union  in  Boston,  $90,000  to  the  Harvard 
Divinity  School,  820,000  to  the  Prospect  Hill  School  at 
Greenfield,  and  $30,000  towards  the  Channing  Memorial 
Church  in  Newport. 

During  these  trying  times  the  administration  of  Uni- 
tarian affairs  in  the  west  was  in  judicious  hands.  In  1865 
Rev.  Charles  G.  Ames  began  those  missionary  efforts  on 
the  Pacific  coast  that  have  led  on  to  the  establishment 
of  a  considerable  number  of  churches  in  that  section  of 
the  country.  In  central  Illinois  the  devoted  labors  of 
Jasper  L.  Douthit  from  1868  to  the  present  time  have 
produced  wide-reaching  results  in  behalf  of  a  genuine 
religion,  temperance,  good  government,  and  education. 
In  1868  Rev.  Carlton  A.  Staples  was  made  the  mission- 
ary agent  of  the  Association  in  the  west,  with  headquar- 
ters in  Chicago,  where  a  book-room  was  established. 
He  was  succeeded  in  1872  by  Rev.  Sylvan  S.  Hunt- 
ing, who  was  a  tireless  worker  in  the  western  field  for 
many  years.  In  1874  Rev.  Jenkin  Lloyd  Jones  became 
the  missionary  of  the  Wisconsin  Conference,  and  the 
next  year  of  the  Western  Conference.  For  ten  years 
Mr.  Jones  labored  in  this  position  with  enthusiasm  for 
the  Unitarian  cause  in  the  west. 

In  the  spring  of  1865  the  attention  of  the  Unitarian 

Association  was    directed  to  the    growing 

„.  .  ^  University  of  Michigan ;  and  Rev.  Charles 
Missions.  ■^  ^      ' 

H.  Brigham,  then  the  minister  of  the 
church  in  Taunton,  was  invited  to  proceed  to  Ann 
Arbor,  and  see  what  might  be  accomphshed  there. 
Meetings  were    held    in  the  court-house,    but  in  1866 


THE   DENOMINATIONAL  AWAKENING  215 

an  old  ]Metliodist  church  was  purchased  by  the  Asso- 
ciation and  adapted  to  the  uses  of  the  new  society. 
The  congregation  numbered  at  first  about  eighty  per- 
sons, but  gradually  increased,  especially  from  the  attend- 
ance of  university  students.  Mr.  Brigham  was  asked 
by  the  students  who  listened  to  him  to  form  a  Bible 
class  for  their  mstruction,  and  this  increased  in  num- 
bers imtil  it  included  from  two  hundred  to  three  hun- 
dred persons.  On  Smiday  evenings  he  deUvered 
lectures  wherein  his  wide  and  varied  learning  was 
made  subservient  to  high  ideals  and  to  a  noble  inter- 
pretation of  Christianity.  He  led  many  j'Oung  men 
and  women  into  the  liberal  faith,  and  he  exercised 
through  them  a  wide  influence  throughout  the  west. 
His  gifts  as  a  lecturer  were  also  made  available  at  the 
Meadville  Theological  School,  with  which  institution 
he  was  connected  for  ten  years.* 

The  success  of  Mr.  Brigham  led  to  the  fomiding  of 
other  college  town  churches,  that  at  Ithaca,  the  seat  of 
Cornell  University,  being  established  in  1866.  In  1878 
such  a  mission  was  begun  at  Madison  for  the  students 
of  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  and  another  at  Iowa 
City  for  the  University  of  Iowa.  In  more  recent  years 
college  missions  have  been  started  at  Lawrence,  Kan.; 
Lincoln,  Neb. ;  Minneapolis,  Minn, ;  Berkeley,  Cal.;  Colo- 
rado Springs ;  and  Amherst,  Mass.  This  has  proved  to 
be  one  of  the  most  effective  ways  of  extending  Unita- 
rianism  as  a  modern  interpretation  of  Christianity. 

Another  interest  developed  by  the  awakening  of  1865 
was  the  popularization  of  Unitarianism  by  the 

^^. .       use  of  theatres.    In  January,  1866,  was  begun 

in  the  Cooper  Institute,  New  York,  a  Sunday 

evening  course  of  lectures  by  Clarke,  Bellows,  Osgood, 

•Memoir  of  Charles  H.  Brigham,  with  Sermons  and  Lectures. 


216  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

Frothingham,  Putnam,  Chadwick,  and  Joseph  May, 
which  was  largely  attended.  Some  of  the  most  impor- 
tant doctrinal  subjects  were  discussed.  A  few  weeks 
later  a  similar  course  was  undertaken  in  Washington, 
with  like  success.  In  March,  1867,  the  Suffolk  Confer- 
ence undertook  such  a  series  of  lectures  in  the  Boston 
Theatre,  which  was  crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity. 
Then  followed  courses  of  sermons  or  lectures  in  Law- 
rence, New  Bedford,  Salem,  Springfield,  Providence, 
Chicago,  and  San  Francisco,  as  well  as  in  other  places. 
The  council  of  the  National  Conference,  in  1868,  com- 
mended this  as  an  important  work  that  should  be 
encouraged.  Rev.  Adams  Ayer  was  made  an  agent  of 
the  Association  to  organize  such  meetings,  and  their 
success  was  remarkable  for  several  years.  In  1869 
Rev.  Charles  Lowe  spoke  of  "that  wonderful  featui'e 
of  our  recent  experience,"  and  urged  that  these  meet- 
ings should  be  so  organized  as  to  lead  to  definite  re- 
sults. 

An  earnest  effort  was  made  to  organize  the  theatre 
congregations  into  unsectarian  societies.  It  was  pro- 
posed to  form  Christian  unions  that  should  work  for 
Christian  improvement  and  usefulness.  The  first  result 
of  this  effort  was  the  reorganization  of  the  Boston 
Young  Men's  Christian  Union  in  the  spring  of  1868. 
A  similar  institution  was  formed  in  Providence,  to  pro- 
mote worship,  education,  hospitality,  and  benevolence. 
Unions  were  also  formed  in  Salem,  Lowell,  Cambridge, 
New  Bedford,  New  York,  and  elsewhere. 

In  the  autumn  of  1865,  in  order  to  facihtate  the  col- 
lection of  money  for  the  Unitarian  Association,  a  num- 
ber of  local  conferences  were  held  in  Massachusetts. 
The    first   of   these   met  at  Somerville,  November  14, 


THE    DENOMINATIONAL   AWAKENING  217 

and  was  primarily  a  meeting  of  the  Cambridge  Asso- 
ciation   of   Ministers,   including   all   the  lay  delegates 

to  the  New  York  convention  from  the 
Organization  churches  which  that  association  represented. 
Conferences     ^^^^  result  of  this  meeting  was  an  increase 

of  contributions  to  the  Unitarian  Association, 
and  the  determination  to  organize  permanently  to  facil- 
itate that  work.  Dr.  E.  E.  Hale  has  stated  that  the 
initial  suggestion  of  these  meetings  came  from  a  con- 
versation between  Dr.  Bellows  and  Dr.  E.  H.  Sears,  in 
which  the  latter  said  "  that  a  very  important  element  in 
any  effort  wliich  should  reveal  the  Unitarian  church 
to  itself  would  be  some  plan  by  which  neighboring 
chui-ches  would  be  brought  together  more  familiarly."  * 
The  local  conferences  had  distinct  antecedents,  how- 
ever, by  which  their  character  was  doubtless  in  some 
degree  determined.  The  early  county  and  other  local 
auxiliaries  to  the  Unitarian  Association  begun  in  1826 
and  continued  for  at  least  twenty  years,  which  were 
general  throughout  New  England,  afforded  a  prece- 
dent ;  but  a  more  immediate  initiative  had  been  taken 
in  New  Hampshire,  where  the  New  Hampshire  Unita- 
rian Association  had  been  organized  at  INIanchester, 
February  25,  1863.  It  does  not  appear  that  this  organ- 
ization was  in  any  way  a  revival  of  the  former  society 
of  the  same  name  in  that  state,  wliich  was  organized  at 
Concord  in  1832,  and  which  was  very  active  for  a  brief 
period.  A  Unitarian  Church  Association  of  Maine  was 
organized  at  Portland,  September  21,  1852,  largely 
under  the  influence  of  Rev.  Sylvester  Judd,  of  Augusta ; 
but   it  had  only  a   brief   existence.     The   Maine  Con- 

*  Christian  Register,  March  15,  1900,  Ixxxix.  300 ;  Twenty-fifth  Anni- 
versary of  the  Worcester  Conference,  7,  address  by  Dr.  Hale.  See  Memoir 
of  Charles  Lowe,  372, 


218  UNITAKIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

ference  of  Unitarian  Churches  was  organized  at  Farm- 
ington,  July  8,  1863.*  These  organizations  antedated 
the  movement  for  the  formation  of  local  conferences  on 
the  part  of  the  National  Conference ;  and  they  doubt- 
less gave  motive  and  impetus  to  that  effort. 

On  November  30,  1865,  a  meeting  similar  to  that  at 
Somerville  was  held  by  the  Franklin  Evangelical  Asso- 
ciation f  at  Springfield,  and  with  similar  results.  Other 
meetings  were  held  at  Lowell,  Dedham,  Quincy,  Salem, 
Taunton,  Worcester,  and  Boston.  The  attendance  at 
all  these  meetings  was  large,  they  developed  an  enthu- 
siastic interest,  and  pledges  were  promptly  made  look- 
ing to  larger  contributions  to  the  Unitarian  Association. 

At  the  Syracuse  meeting  of  the  National  Conference, 
in  1866,  Dr.  Bellows  reported  for  the  council  in  favor 
of  local  organizations,  auxiliary  to  the  national  body. 
"  No  great  national  convention  of  any  kind  succeeds," 
it  was  declared,  "  wliich  is  not  the  concurrence  of  many 
local  conventions,  each  of  which  has  duties  of  detail 
and  special  spheres  of  influence  upon  whose  co-opera- 
tion the  final  and  grand  success  of  the  whole  depends." 
A  series  of  resolutions,  calling  for  the  formation  of 
local  conferences,  "  to  meet  at  fixed  periods,  at  conven- 
ient points,  for  the  organization  of  missionary  work," 
was  presented  by  Dr.  E.  E.  Hale.  In  order  to  carry 
into  effect  the  intent  of  these  resolutions,  Charles  Lowe 
devised  a  plan  of  organization,  which  declared  that  the 
object  of  the  local  conference  "  shall  be  to  promote  the 
rehgious  life  and  mutual  sympathy  of  the  churches 
which  unite  in  it,  and  to  enable  them  to  co-operate  in 

*  Church  Exchange,  May,  1899,  vi.  59. 

t  This  association  of  ministers  was  organized  August  17, 1819,  and  was 
orthodox,  but  f  ovmd  itself  Unitarian  when  the  denominational  change  took 
place. 


THE   DENOMINATIONAL   AWAKENING  219 

missionary  work,  and  in  raising  funds  for  various  Chris- 
tian purposes."  The  work  of  organizing  such  local 
missionary  bodies  was  taken  up  at  once,  and  proceeded 
rapidly.  The  first  one  was  organized  at  Sheboygan, 
Wis.,  October  24,  1866;  and  nearly  all  the  churches 
were  brought  within  the  limits  of  such  conferences  dur- 
ing the  next  two  years.* 

In  the  local  conferences,  as  in  the  National  Confer- 
ence, two  purposes  contended  for  expression  that  were 
not  compatible  with  each  other  as  practical  incentives 
to  action.  The  one  looked  to  the  uniting  of  all  liberal 
individuals  and  denominations  in  a  general  organization, 
and  the  other  aimed  at  the  promotion  of  distinctly  Uni- 
tarian interests.  In  the  National  Conference  the  denom- 
inational purpose  controlled  in  shaping  its  permanent 
policy;  but  the  other  intent  found  expression  in  the 
addition  of  "  Other  Christian  Churches  "  to  the  name, 
though  in  only  the  most  limited  way  did  such  churches 
connect  themselves  with  the  Conference.!  The  local 
conferences  made  like  provision  for  those  not  wishing 
to  call  themselves  distinctly  Unitarian.  Such  desire  for 
co-operation,  however,  was  in  a  large  degree  ineffective 
because  of  the  fact  that  the  primary  aim  in  the  calling 
into  existence  of  such  conferences  was  an  increase  in 
the  funds  of  the  Unitarian  Association. 

Under  the  leadership  of  the  National  Conference  the 

Unitarian  body  underwent  material  changes 

Fellow-        ^j^  ^^g  internal  organization   and    in  its  rela- 

ship  and 

Fraternity,  tions  to  other  denominations.     Not  only  did 

it  bring  the  churches  to  act  together  in  the 

local  conferences  and  in  its  own  sessions,  but  it  taught 

*  See  Appendix  for  a  complete  list  of  the  local  conferences  and  the  dates 
of  their  organization. 

t  In  a  small  number  of  instances  such  churches  did  join  the  Conference, 
hut  the  number  was  too  small  to  be  in  any  detrree  sig:niticant. 


220  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

tliem  to  co-operate  for  the  protection  of  their  pulpits 
agauist  adventurers  and  immoral  men.  Before  it  was 
organized,  the  excessive  spirit  of  independency  in  the 
churches  would  permit  of  no  exercise  of  control  as  to 
their  selection  of  ministers  to  fill  their  pulpits.  At 
the  fourth  session  of  the  National  Conference,  held  in 
New  York  in  October,  1870,  the  council,  through  Dr. 
Bellows,  suggested  that  the  local  conferences  refuse 
to  acknowledge  as  ministers  men  of  proven  vices  and 
immoralities.  To  carry  out  the  spirit  of  this  suggestion, 
Dr.  Hale  presented  a  resolution,  which  was  adopted, 
asking  the  local  conferences  to  appoint  committees  of 
fellowship  to  examine  and  to  act  upon  candidates  for 
the  ministry.  In  October,  1870,  the  New  York  and 
Hudson  River  Conference  created  such  a  committee 
"  to  examine  the  testimonials  of  such  as  desire  to  be- 
come members  of  the  conference  and  enter  the  Unitarian 
ministry." 

The  seventh  session  of  the  National  Conference,  held 
at  Saratoga  in  1876,  provided  for  the  appointment  of  a 
committee  of  fellowship,  and  the  list  of  names  of  those 
appointed  to  its  membership  appears  in  the  printed 
report;  but  there  is  no  record  that  the  committee  ever 
organized.  In  1878  the  council  reported  at  consider- 
able length  on  the  desirableness  of  establishing  such  a 
committee;  and,  again,  a  committee  of  fellowship  was 
appointed  "to  take  into  immediate  consideration  the 
subject  of  the  introduction  into  the  Unitarian  ministry 
of  those  persons  who  seek  an  entrance  into  that  ministry 
from  other  churches."  This  committee  consisted  of 
twelve  persons,  three  each  for  the  eastern,  middle, 
western,  and  Pacific  states. 

At  the  session  of  1880  the  council  of  the  Conference 


THE   DENOMINATIONAL   AWAKENING  221 

stated  that  it  had  created  a  substitute  for  the  old  ecclesi- 
astical council,  that  was  called  together  from  the  neigh- 
boring ministers  and  churches  whenever  a  minister  was 
to  be  inducted  into  office.  That  method  was  costly  and 
had  dropped  into  desuetude ;  but  the  new  method  of  a 
committee  of  fellowship  saved  true  Congregational 
methods  and  freed  the  churches  from  unworthy  men. 
At  this  session  the  committee  reported  that  it  had 
adopted  a  uniform  plan  of  action ;  but  a  resolution  was 
passed  recommending  that  each  local  conference  estab- 
lish its  ovm.  committee  of  fellowship.  Having  once 
been  instituted,  however,  the  committee  of  the  National 
Conference  came  slowly  to  be  recognized  as  the  fit 
means  of  introducing  ministers  into  the  Unitarian  fel- 
lowship. Its  authority  has  proven  beneficent,  and  in 
no  sense  autocratic.  It  has  shown  that  churches  may 
co-operate  in  this  way  without  intruding  upon  each 
others'  rights,  and  that  such  a  safeguarding  of  the 
pulpits  of  the  denomination  is  essential  to  their  dignity 
and  morality.  In  1896  the  Minnesota  Conference  went 
one  step  further,  and  provided  for  a  committee  of 
fellowship  with  power  to  exclude  for  "conduct  un- 
becoming a  minister." 

The  most  marked  feature  in  the  history  of  Unitarian- 
ism  in  this  country  during  the  period  from 
Results  of  the     ^355  ^^  -^ggQ  ^^^  ^l^g  organization  of  the 
Denominational  ^^^     .        1      ^^      ^  ,        ,      .  ,     . 

Awakening         JNational    Conference    as    the    legislative 

body  of  the  denomination,  and  the  ad- 
justment to  it  of  the  American  Unitarian  Association 
as  its  executive  instrument.  Attendant  upon  this  or- 
ganizing movement  was  the  termination  of  the  theolog- 
ical discussion  that  had  begun  twenty  years  earlier 
between  the  conservatives  and    radicals,  the  supernat- 


222  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

uralists  and  the  idealists,  or  transcendentalists.  In 
1865  the  large  majority  of  Unitarians  were  conservatives 
and  supernaturalists,  but  in  1880  a  marked  change  in 
belief  had  come  about,  that  had  apparently  given  the 
victory  to  the  more  moderate  of  the  radicals.  The  ma- 
jority of  Unitarians  would  no  longer  assert  that  miracles 
are  necessary  to  faith  in  Christ  and  the  acceptance  of 
his  teachings  as  worthy  of  credence. 

The  change  that  came  about  during  these  years  was 
largely  due  to  the  leadersliip  of  Henry  W.  Bellows. 
What  he  did  was  to  keep  actively  alive  in  the  Unitarian 
body  its  .recognition  of  its  Christian  heritage,  while  at 
the  same  time  he  boldly  refused  assent  to  its  being  com- 
mitted to  any  definite  creed.  He  insisted  upon  the  right 
of  Unitarians  to  the  Christian  name,  and  to  all  that 
Christianity  means  as  a  vital  spiritual  force ;  but  at  the 
same  time  he  refused  to  accept  any  limits  for  the  Chris- 
tian tradition  and  heritage,  and  left  them  free  for 
growth.  Sometimes  apparently  reactionary  and  con- 
servative, he  was  at  other  times  boldly  radical  and 
progressive.  The  cause  of  this  seeming  inconsistency 
was  to  be  found  in  those  gifts  of  imagination  and  emo- 
tion that  made  him  a  great  preacher ;  but  the  inconsist- 
ency Avas  more  apparent  than  real,  for  in  his  leadership 
he  manifested  a  wisdom  and  a  capacity  for  directing  the 
efforts  of  others  that  has  never  been  surpassed  in  the 
history  of  religion  and  philanthropy  in  this  country. 
He  was  both  conservative  and  radical,  supernaturalist 
and  transcendentalist,  a  believer  in  miracles  with  a 
confident  trust  in  the  functions  of  reason.  He  saw  both 
before  and  after,  knew  the  worth  of  the  past,  and  recog- 
nized that  all  the  roots  of  our  religious  life  are  found 
therein,  and  yet  courageously  faced  the  future  and  its 


THE    DENOMINATIONAL   AWAKENING  223 

power  to  transform  our  faith  by  the  aid  of  philosophy 
and  science.  Consequently,  his  sympathies  were  large, 
generous,  and  inclusive.  Sometimes  autocratic  in  word 
and  action,  his  motives  were  catholic,  and  his  intentions 
broad  and  appreciative.  He  gave  direction  to  the  newer 
Unitarianism  in  its  efforts  to  organize  and  perpetuate  it- 
self. Had  it  been  more  flexible  to  his  organizing  skill, 
it  would  have  grown  more  rapidly  ;  but,  with  all  its  indi- 
vidualism and  dislike  of  proselyting,  it  has  more  than 
doubled  in  strength  since  1865.  He  showed  the  Unita- 
rian body  that  freedom  is  consistent  with  organized  ef- 
fort, and  that  personal  hberty  is  no  more  essential  than 
co-ordinated  action.  He  may  be  justly  described  as  the 
real  organizer  of  the  Unitarian  body  in  this  country. 


IX. 

GKOWTH   OF   DENOMINATIONAL   CONSCIOUSNESS. 

The  period  from  1880  to  the  present  time  is  marked 
by  a  growing  denominational  unity.  Gradually  Unita- 
rians have  come  to  the  acceptance  of  their  fellowship 
as  a  religious  body,  and  to  a  recognition  of  their  dis- 
tinct mission.  The  controversy  between  the  conserva- 
tives and  the  radicals  was  transferred  to  the  west  in 
1886,  and  continued  to  have  at  its  basis  the  problem  of 
the  relation  of  the  individual  to  religious  institutions 
and  traditions.  The  conservative  party  maintained  that 
Unitarians  are  Christians,  and  gave  recognition  to  that 
continuity  of  human  development  by  which  every  gen- 
eration is  connected  with  and  draws  its  life  from  those 
which  precede  it,  and  is  consciously  dependent  upon 
them.  On  the  other  hand,  the  radical  party  was  not 
willing  to  accept  traditions  and  mstitutions  as  having 
a  binding  authority  over  individuals.  Some  of  them 
were  reluctant  to  call  themselves  Christians,  not  be- 
cause they  rejected  the  more  important  of  the  Christian 
beliefs,  but  because  they  were  not  willuig  to  bind  any 
individual  by  the  action  of  his  fellows.  It  was  their 
claim  that  religion  best  serves  its  own  ends  when  it  is 
free  to  act  upon  the  individual  without  compulsion  of 
any  kind  from  others,  and  that  its  attractions  should  be 
without  any  bias  of  external  authority. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Western  Conference  held  in 
Cleveland    in    1882,  arrangements  were  made  looking 


GROWTH    OF   DENOMINATIONAL   CONSCIOUSNESS     225 

to  its  incorporation ;    and  its  object  was  defined  to  be 
"  the  transaction  of  business  pertaining  to 

The  West-  ^^^q  greneral  interests  of  the  societies  con- 
ern  Issue."  ^ 

nected  with  the  Conference,  and  the  pro- 
motion of  rational  reUgion."  It  was  voted  that  the 
motto  on  the  conference  seal  should  be  "  Freedom,  Fel- 
lowship, and  Character  in  Religion,"  which  was  the  same 
as  that  of  the  Free  Religious  Association,  with  the  addi- 
tion of  the  word  "character."  These  results  were 
reached  after  much  discussion,  and  by  the  way  of  com- 
promise. The  issues  thus  raised  were  brought  forward 
again  at  St.  Louis,  in  1885,  when  Rev.  J.  T.  Sunder- 
land, the  secretary  and  missionary  of  the  conference, 
deplored  the  growing  spirit  of  agnosticism  and  scepti- 
cism in  the  Unitarian  cliurches  of  the  west.  His  report 
caused  a  division  of  opinion  in  the  conference  ;  and  in 
the  controversy  that  ensued  the  conservatives  were  repre- 
sented by  The  Unitarian,  edited  by  Rev.  Brooke  Her- 
ford  and  Rev.  J.  T.  Sunderland,  and  the  radicals  by 
Unity,  edited  by  Rev.  J.  LI.  Jones  and  Rev.  W.  C. 
Gannett. 

At  the  Western  Conference  meeting  of  1886,  held  in 
Cincinnati,  the  controversy  found  full  expression.  The 
session  was  preceded  a  few  days  before  by  the  pubHca- 
tion  of  a  pamphlet  on  The  Western  Issue  from  the  pen 
of  Mr.  Sunderland,  in  which  he  contended  for  the  the- 
istic  and  Christian  character  of  the  conference.  A 
resolution  offered  by  Rev.  Oscar  Clute,  "that  the 
primary  object  of  this  Conference  is  to  diffuse  the 
knowledge  and  promote  the  interests  of  pure  Chris- 
tianity," was  rejected  by  a  considerable  majority.  An- 
other, offered  by  Mr.  Sunderland  —  "  that,  while  reject- 
ing all   creeds    and   creed   hmitations,  the    Conference 


226  UNITAEIANISM   IN   AMEBIC  A 

hereby  expresses  its  purpose  as  a  body  to  be  the  promo- 
tion of  a  rehgion  of  love  to  God  and  love  to  man  "  — 
was  also  rejected.  That  presented  by  William  C.  Gan- 
nett was  carried  by  a  majority  of  thirty-four  to  ten,  and 
declared  that 

the  Western  Unitarian  Conference  conditions  its  fel- 
lowsliip  on  no  dogmatic  tests,  but  welcomes  all  who 
wish  to  join  it  to  establish  truth,  righteousness,  and 
love  in  the  world. 

The  result  was  a  pronomiced  division  between  the 
two  parties  within  the  conference ;  and  a  considerable 
number  of  churches,  including  some  of  the  oldest  and 
strongest,  withdrew  from  co-operation  in  the  work  of 
the  Conference.  At  the  session  of  1887,  held  in  All 
Souls'  Church,  Chicago,  an  effort  was  made  to  bring 
about  a  reconciliation ;  but  this  was  not  completely  se- 
cured.*     A    resolution    was    carried,     however,    by    a 

*The  Unitarian,  June,  1887,  II.  156.  For  historical  accounts  of  this 
controversy  see  Mrs.  S.  C.  LI.  Jones's  Western  Unitarian  Conference :  Its 
Work  and  its  Mission,  Unity  Mission  Tract,  No.  38  ;  W.  C.  Gannett'a  The 
Flowering  of  Christianity,  Lesson  XII.,  Part  IV.  ;  and  The  Unitarian, 
II.  and  III.  A  Western  Unitarian  Association  was  organized  in  Chicago, 
June  21,  1886.  Some  of  the  older  and  leading  churches  were  connected 
with  it,  including  those  at  MeadviUe,  Ann  Arbor,  Louisville,  Shelbyville, 
Church  of  the  Messiah  and  Unity  in  Chicago,  Church  of  the  Messiah  in 
St.  Louis,  Keokuk,  and  others.  Hon.  George  W.  McCrary  was  elected  the 
president,  and  Mrs.  Jonathan  Slade  the  recording  secretary.  In  October, 
1887,  Rev.  George  Batchelor  became  the  Western  agent  of  the  American 
Unitarian  Association.  He  was  succeeded  the  next  year  by  Rev.  George 
W.  Cutter.  In  September,  1890,  Rev.  T.  B.  Forbush  was  made  the 
Western  superintendent  of  the  American  Unitarian  Association,  with  head- 
quarters in  Chicago  ;  and  he  held  this  position  until  189G.  During  the 
period  covered  by  these  dates  Rev.  J.  R.  Effinger  was  the  general  mission- 
ary of  the  Western  Unitarian  Conference,  and  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
F.  L.  Hosmer  and  Rev.  A.  W.  Gould.  In  1896  the  Western  churches  were 
reunited  in  the  Western  Conference,  and  its  secretary  has  been  the  super- 
intendent of  the  American  Unitarian  Association.  As  defining  the  posi- 
tion of  the  American  Unitarian  Association  during  this  period  of  con- 
troversy, it  may  be  recalled  that  in  June,  1886,  the  direetors  adopted  a 


GROWTH    OF   DENOMINATIONAL   CONSCIOUSNESS     227 

majority  of  fifty-nine  to  three,  reaffirming  Mr.  Gannett's 
declaration  adopted  at  Cinciimati,  but  also  accepting  a 
statement  in  regard  to  fellowship  and  doctrines,  which 
was  called  The  Things  Most  Commonly  Believed 
To-day  among  Us,  and  read  as  follows :  — 

In  all  matters  of  church  government  we  are  strict 
Congregationalists.  We  have  no  creed  in  the  usual 
sense;  that  is,  articles  of  doctrinal  behef  which  bind 
our  churches  and  fix  the  conditions  of  our  fellowsliip. 
Character  has  always  been  to  us  the  supreme  matter. 
We  have  doctrinal  beliefs,  and  for  the  most  part  hold 
such  behefs  in  common;  but  above  all  doctrines  we 
emphasize  the  principles  of  freedom,  fellowship,  and 
character  in  religion.  These  principles  make  our  all- 
sufficient  test  of  fellowsliip.  All  names  that  divide  re- 
ligion are  to  us  of  little  consequence  compared  with 
religion  itself.  Whoever  loves  truth  and  loves  the  good 
is,  in  a  broad  sense,  of  our  religious  fellowship ;  whoever 
loves  the  one  or  lives  the  other  better  than  ourselves 
is  our  teacher,  whatever  church  or  age  he  may  belong 
to.  So  our  church  is  wide,  our  teachers  many,  and  our 
holy  writings  large. 

With  a  few  exceptions  we  may  be  called  Christian 
Theists:  Theists  as  worshipping  the  One-in-All,  and 
naming  that  One,  God  our  Father;  Christian,  because 
revering  Jesus  as  the  highest  of  the  historic  prophets 
of  religion;  these  names,  as  names,  receiving  more 
stress  in  our  older  than  in  our  younger  churches.  The 
general  faith  is  hinted  well  in  words  which  several  of 
our  churches  have  adopted  for  their  covenant :  "  In  the 
freedom  of  the  truth,  and  in  the  spirit  of  Jesus  Christ, 
we  unite  for  the  worship  of  God  and  the  service  of 
man."     It  is  hinted  in  such  words  as  these :  "  Unita- 

resolution,  in  -which  they  said  they  "  would  regard  it  as  a  subversion  of  the 
purpose  for  which  its  funds  have  been  contributed,  as  well  as  of  the  princi- 
ples cherished  by  its  officers,  to  give  assistance  to  any  church  or  organiza- 
tion which  does  not  rest  emphatically  on  the  Christian  basis." 


228  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

rianism  is  a  religion  of  love  to  God  and  love  to  man." 
"  It  is  that  free  and  progressive  development  of  historic 
Christianity  which  aspires  to  be  synonymous  with  uni- 
versal ethics  and  universal  religion."  But  because  we 
have  no  creed  which  we  impose  as  test  of  fellowship, 
specific  statements  of  belief  abound  among  us,  always 
somewhat  differing,  always  largely  agreeing.  One  such 
we  offer  here :  — 

We  believe  that  to  love  the  Good  and  live  the  Good 
is  the  supreme  thing  in  religion.  We  hold  reason  and 
conscience  to  be  final  authorities  in  matters  of  religious 
belief.  We  honor  the  Bible  and  all  inspiring  scriptures, 
old  and  new.  We  revere  Jesus  and  all  holy  souls  that 
have  taught  men  truth  and  righteousness  and  love,  as 
prophets  of  religion.  We  believe  in  the  growing  no- 
bility of  man.  We  trust  the  unfolding  universe  as  beau- 
tiful, beneficent,  unchanging  Order ;  to  know  this  order 
is  truth;  to  obey  it  is  right  and  liberty  and  stronger 
life.  We  beheve  that  good  and  evil  inevitably  carry 
their  own  recompense,  no  good  things  being  failure,  and 
no  evil  things  success ;  that  heaven  and  hell  are  states 
of  being ;  that  no  evil  can  befall  the  good  man  in  either 
hfe  or  death ;  that  all  things  work  together  for  the  vic- 
tory of  Good.  We  believe  that  we  ought  to  join  hands 
and  work  to  make  the  good  things  better  and  the  worst 
good,  counting  nothing  good  for  self  that  is  not  good 
for  all.  We  believe  that  this  self-forgetting,  loyal  life 
awakes  in  man  the  sense  of  union,  here  and  now,  with 
things  eternal  —  the  sense  of  deathlessness  ;  and  this  is 
to  us  an  earnest  of  the  hfe  to  come.  We  worship  One- 
in-AU, —  that  Life  whence  suns  and  stars  derive  their 
orbits  and  the  soul  of  man  its  Ought, —  that  Light 
which  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world, 
giving  us  power  to  become  the  sons  of  God, —  that 
Love  with  whom  our  souls  commune.  This  One  we 
name  the  Eternal  God,  our  Father. 

This  action  not  satisfying  the  remonstrants,  the  con- 
troversy went  on  with  considerable  vigor  for  tliree  or 


GROWTH    OF   DENOMINATIONAL   CONSCIOUSNESS     229 

four  years.  Both  parties  to  it  were  characteristically 
Unitarian  in  their  attitude  and  in  their  demands.  Both 
sought  the  truth  with  an  attempt  at  unbiassed  judg- 
ment ;  and  neither  wished  to  disfellowship  the  other, 
or  to  put  any  restrictions  upon  its  expression  of  its 
opinions.  Much  heat  was  engendered  by  the  contro- 
versy, but  light  was  desired  by  both  parties  with  sin- 
cere purpose.  The  conflict  was  finally  brought  to  an 
end  by  the  action  of  the  National  Conference  at  its  ses- 
sion of  1894,  held  at  Saratoga,  though  this  result  had 
been  practically  reached  in  1892.  A  committee  on  the 
revision  of  the  constitution  had  been  appointed  by  the 
council  of  the  session  of  1891 ;  and  this  committee  re- 
ported the  following  preamble,  which  was  unanimously 
adopted  as  a  substitute  for  the  preamble  of  1865  and 
1868:  — 

The  Conference  of  Unitarian  and  other  Christian 
Churches  was  formed  in  the  year  1865,  with  the  pur- 
pose of  strengthening  the  churches  and  societies  which 
should  unite  in  it  for  more  and  better  work  for  the 
kingdom  of  God.  These  churches  accept  the  religion 
of  Jesus,  holding,  in  accordance  with  his  teaching,  that 
practical  religion  is  summed  up  in  love  to  God  and  love 
to  man.  The  Conference  recognizes  the  fact  that  its 
constituency  is  Congregational  in  tradition  and  polity. 
Therefore,  it  declares  that  nothing  in  this  constitution 
is  to  be  construed  as  an  authoritative  test ;  and  we  cor- 
dially invite  to  our  working  fellowship  any  who,  while 
differing  from  us  in  behef,  are  in  general  sympathy  with 
our  spiiit  and  our  practical,  aims. 

This  preamble  to  the  new  constitution  proved  to  be 
so  far  acceptable  to  both  parties  in  the  Western  Confer- 
ence, as  well  as  to  their  sympathizers  elsewhere,  that 
harmony  was   restored  throughout  the   denomination. 


230  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

While  the  Unitarian  body  thus  retained  its  use  of  the 
Christian  name  and  its  insistence  upon  loyalty  to  the 
teachings  of  Jesus,  yet  it  put  aside  every  form  of  dog- 
matic test  and  of  creedal  statement.  Its  fellowship  was 
made  very  broad  in  its  character,  and  all  were  invited 
to  join  it  who  so  desu*ed. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Unitarian  Association 

in  1899  resolutions  were  passed  looking 
Fellowship  with    ,••,,•        i     .  tt    -i.     •  i 

_-  .  ,  ,  to  lomt  action  between  Unitarians  and 
Universalists.  •" 

Universahsts  with  reference  to  further- 
ing their  common  interests.  A  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  confer  with  a  similar  committee  of  the  Uni- 
versalist  General  Convention  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
sidering "  plans  of  closer  co-operation,  devise  ways  and 
means  for  more  efficient  usefulness."  In  October  this 
proposal  was  accepted  by  the  General  Convention,  and  a 
committee  appointed.  At  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
Unitarian  Association  in  1900  the  report  of  the  joint 
committee  was  presented,  in  which  it  was  declared  that 
"  closer  co-operation  is  desirable  and  practicable  "  ;  but 
the  committee  expressed  the  wish  to  go  on  record  "  as 
not  desiring  nor  expecting  to  disturb  in  any  way  the  sep- 
arate organic  autonomy  of  the  two  denominations.  We 
seek  co-operation,  not  consolidation,  unity,  not  union." 
The  committee  recommended  that  it  be  given  authority 
to  consider  the  cases  in  which  the  two  denominations 
are  jointly  interested,  such  as  opportunities  of  institut- 
ing churches  or  missions  in  new  fields,  the  circulation 
of  tracts  and  books,  the  holding  of  joint  meetings  of 
ministers  and  churches,  or  other  efforts  to  promote  in- 
tellectual agreements  and  deep  faiths  of  the  heart,  and 
to  recommend  the  appropriate  action  to  the  proper  or- 
ganizations.    At   the   next   sessions    of   the    Unitarian 


GROWTH    OF   DENOMINATIONAL   CONSCIOUSNESS     231 

Association  and  of  the  Universalist  General  Convention 
these  recommendations  were  accepted,  and  permanent 
members  of  the  joint  committee  were  appointed.  This 
committee  has  entered  upon  its  duties,  and  important 
results  may  be  anticipated  in  the  promotion  of  harmony 
and  co-operation. 

Mr.  Henry  P.  Kidder  continued  as  the  president  of 
the  Unitarian  Association  until  the  an- 
Offlcersofthe       ^^r^i   meeting  of    1886.      He  was   then 
American  Unita-  i    i    i        tt  /-.  t->.      -r*   i  • 

rian  Association.  Succeeded  by  Hon.  George  D.  Robin- 
son, who  held  the  office  for  only  one 
year.  He  had  been  in  both  houses  of  the  Massachu- 
setts legislature,  in  the  national  House  from  1877  to 
1883,  and  was  governor  of  Massachusetts  from  1884  to 
1886.  His  successor  was  Hon.  George  S.  Hale,  from 
1887  to  1895,  who  was  a  distinguished  lawyer,  and 
was  greatly  interested  in  charities  and  reforms.  Hon. 
John  D.  Long  was  the  president  from  1895  to  1897. 
He  had  been  in  the  lower  house  of  the  Massachusetts 
legislature,  was  lieutenant  governor  in  1879,  governor 
in  1880-82,  in  the  national  House  from  1883  to  1889, 
and  from  1897  to  1902  was  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 
Hon.  Carroll  D.Wright  held  the  office  from  1897  to  1900. 
He  was  in  the  Massachusetts  Senate  in  1871  and  1872, 
was  chief  of  the  Massachusetts  bureau  of  statistics  from 
1873  to  1888,  superintendent  of  the  United  States  cen- 
sus in  1880,  has  been  commissioner  of  the  national 
Bureau  of  Labor  since  1885,  and  in  1902  became  presi- 
dent of  Clark  College  at  Worcester.  At  the  annual 
meeting  of  1900  it  was  thought  best  to  make  a  change 
in  the  nature  of  the  presidency,  in  order  that  the  head 
of  the  Association  might  become  its  chief  executive 
officer.     In  that  way  it  was  sought  to  add  dignity  and 


232  UNITARIANISM   IN    AJMERICA 

efficiency  to  the  position  of  the  executive  officer,  as  well 
as  to  meet  the  greatly  increased  work  of  the  Associa- 
tion by  this  addition  to  its  salaried  force.  The  sec- 
retary, Rev.  Samuel  A.  Eliot,  was  elected  to  the  presi- 
dency. 

In  1881  Rev.  Grindall  Reynolds  became  the  secretary 
of  the  Association.  He  had  previously  held  pastorates 
in  Jamaica  Plain  and  Concord,  He  had  rare  executive 
abiUties,  was  gifted  with  sound  common  sense  and  a  ju- 
dicial temper ;  and  he  had  a  most  efficient  business 
capacity.  Under  his  leadership  the  growth  of  the  Uni- 
tarian denomination  was  more  rapid  than  it  had  been  at 
any  earlier  period ;  and  this  was  largely  due  to  his  zeal, 
energy,  and  wisdom. 

In  December,  1894,  Rev.  George  Batchelor  became 
the  secretary,  and  he  continued  in  office  until  Novem- 
ber, 1897,  when  he  became  the  editor  of  The  Christian 
Register.  He  had  previously  held  pastorates  in  Salem, 
Chicago,  and  Lowell.  He  was  succeeded,  January  1, 
1898,  by  Rev.  Samuel  A.  Eliot,  who  had  been  settled 
over  churches  in  Denver  and  Brooklyn,  and  who  became 
the  president  of  the  Association  in  1900.  Rev.  Charles 
E.  St.  John,  who  had  been  settled  in  Northampton  and 
Pittsburg,  became  the  secretary  at  the  annual  meeting 
of  1900. 

In  the  report  of  the  council  of  the  National  Confer- 
ence   at   the    session    of    1880,    Dr. 

The  American  Unita-  Bellows  pointed  out  the  fact  that 
rian  Association  as  a   ,,        .  .  .  .  . 

Representative  Body.  ^^^^  American  Unitarian  Association 
was  "not  a  union  of  churches,  but 
an  association  of  individuals  belonging  to  Unitarian 
churches,  who  became  members  of  it  and  entitled  to 
vote    by  signing  its  constitution  and  the  annual   pay- 


GROWTH    OF   DENOMINATIONAL   CONSCIOUSNESS     233 

ment  of  one  dollar.  This  Association  never  had,  and 
has  not  now,  any  explicit  relation  to  our  churches  as 
churches,  but  only  to  such  individuals  as  choose  to  be- 
come voluntary  subscribers  to  its  funds,  and  members  by 
signing  its  constitution,  and  to  such  churches  as  choose 
to  employ  its  services." 

This  statement  led  to  the  appointment  of  a  committee 
"to  consider  how  the  National  Conference  and  the 
American  Unitarian  Association  can  more  effectually 
co-operate  without  sacrifice  of  the  advantages  belong- 
ing to  either."  The  committee  reported  m  1882  in 
favor  of  so  changing  the  charter  of  the  Association  that 
a  church  might  become  a  member.  At  the  annual  meet- 
ing of  the  Association  in  1884,  after  a  prolonged  dis- 
cussion, its  by-laws  were  so  amended  that,  while  the  life 
membership  was  retained,  the  sum  creating  it  was  raised 
from  $30  to  $50 ;  and  churches  were  given  representa- 
tion on  the  condition  of  regular  yearly  contributions  to 
its  treasury,  two  of  such  contributions  being  necessary 
to  establish  a  church  in  this  right.  Since  that  time  the 
delegates  from  churches  have-  considerably  outnumbered 
the  life  members  voting  at  the  annual  meetings.  This 
has  practically  given  the  churches  the  controlling  voice 
in  the  activities  of  the  Association. 

The  giving  a  representative  character  to  the  Associa- 
tion had  the  effect  of  increasing  the  contributions  made 
to  its  support  by  the  churches.  Under  the  leadership 
of  Dr.  Bellows,  at  the  National  Conference  in  1884, 
there  began  a  movement  looking  to  the  establishment  of 
a  conference  in  every  state  and  the  employment  of  a 
missionary  by  every  such  conference.  This  plan  has  not 
yet  been  fully  carried  out ;  but  in  1885  and  the  following 
years  missionaiy  superintendents  were  appointed  by  the 


234  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

Association  for  five  general  sections  of  the  country,  and, 
with  some  variations,  this  system  has  continued  in  opera- 
tion to  the  present  time.* 

The  work  of  building  churches  was  greatly  facilitated 

by  the  establishment,  in  1884,  of  a 
The  Church  Build-  ^^^^^^  Building  Loan  Fund.  The 
ing  Loan  Fund.  ° 

proposition  to  create  such  a  fund  was 

first  brought  forward  by  the  finance  committee  at  a 
meeting  of  the  directors  of  the  Unitarian  Association 
on  February  11,  1884.  At  the  March  meeting  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  mature  plans ;  and  at  the  meet- 
ing of  the  National  Conference  in  September,  held  at 
Saratoga,  a  resolution  was  passed  asking  the  Association 
to  set  apart  $25,000  for  this  purpose,  and  pledging  the 
Conference  to  add  |20,000  to  this  sum.  At  the  No- 
vember meeting  of  the  directors  of  the  Association  the 
organization  of  the  fund  was  completed,  a  board  of  trus- 
tees was  created,  and  the  sum  of  $43,000  was  reported 
as  secured.  The  fund  was  steadily  increased  by  contri- 
butions from  the  churches  and  by  gifts  and  legacies  until 
in  1900  it  amounted  to  $142,820.92.  Up  to  May,  1900, 
an  aggregate  sum  of  $294,310  had  been  disbursed,  in 
one  hundred  loans  to  ninety  societies,  chiefly  to  aid  in 
the  erection  of  new  church  edifices,  f 

For  several  years  after  the  organization  of  the  Ameri- 
can Unitarian  Association  the  records  give 
The  Unita-      j-^q  indication  of  the  place  of  meeting  of  the 
ST  Boston  ^°^  directors.     During  the  latter  part  of  1825, 
and  in  1826,  David  Reed  was  the  general 
agent  of  the  Association ;  and  his  place  of  business  was 

*New  England,  Middle  States  and  Canada,  Western  States,  Southern 
States,  and  Pacific  Coast. 

t  These  loans  are  made  without  interest  under  established  conditions, 
one  of  which  is  that  they  must  be  repaid  in  ten  annual  instalments. 


GROWTH   OF   DENOMINATIONAL   CONSCIOUSNESS     235 

at  81  Washington  Street.  It  is  probable  that  the  direc- 
tors met  at  the  study  of  the  secretary  or  at  the  place  of 
business  of  the  agent.  In  December,  1826,  the  firm  of 
Bowles  &  Dearborn,  booksellers,  became  the  agents, 
their  store  being  first  at  72  and  then  at  50  Washington 
Street.  Here  aU  Unitarian  publications  were  kept  on 
sale,  the  name  of  "  general  repositary  "  being  given  to 
their  stock  of  books,  tracts,  periodicals,  and  other  publi- 
cations of  a  liberal  character.  In  1829  the  agent  was 
Leonard  C.  Bowles,  evidently  a  continuation  of  Bowles 
&  Dearborn. 

In  1830  the  depositary  was  removed  to  135  Washing- 
ton Street,  and  was  under  the  management  of  the  firm  of 
Gray  &  Bowen,  who  were  paid  $144.44  for  their  ser- 
vices. In  1831  the  place  of  business  of  this  firm  was 
141  Washington  Street;  and  the  sum  it  received  from 
the  Association  was  $200,  which  was  the  next  year  in- 
creased to  $300.  Leonard  C.  Bowles,  located  at  147 
Washington  Street,  again  became  the  agent  in  1836.  In 
1837  James  Mmiroe  &  Co.  appear  as  the  publishers 
of  the  annual  report,  but  they  are  not  mentioned  as 
agents  or  as  having  charge  of  the  repositary.  The  sum  of 
$150  was  paid  in  that  year  for  the  rent  of  a  room  for  the 
general  secretary.  Rev.  Charles  Briggs;  and  the  loca- 
tion of  the  room  is  probably  indicated  by  the  record  that 
in  1838  Munroe  &  Co.  were  paid  $133.34  for  rent 
of  room  and  clerk  hire,  their  store  being  at  134  Wash- 
ington Street.  Here  the  headquarters  of  the  Association 
were  at  last  established,  for  they  continued  in  this  place 
until  1846.  In  1839  the  rental  paid  was  $300,  and  for 
the  six  succeeding  years  it  was  $200.  Surely,  these 
were  the  days  of  small  things ;  but  here  the  Association 
carried  on  such  activities  as  it  had  in  hand,  and  the 


236  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

Unitarian  ministers  met  for  conversation  and  consulta- 
tion. 

In  1846  Crosby,  Nichols  &  Co.  became  the  agents  of 
the  Association,  first  at  118  and  then  at  111  Washing- 
ton Street.  This  firm  brought  out  several  Unitarian 
books,  and  issued  The  Christian  Examiner  and  other 
Unitarian  periodicals.  For  a  number  of  years  they 
were  intimately  associated  with  Unitarian  interests,  and 
the  theological  and  literary  traditions  of  the  time  con- 
nect them  with  many  of  the  leading  men  and  move- 
ments of  Boston.  In  the  rear  of  their  store  the  Associ- 
ation had  its  office,  its  meeting-place  for  the  directors 
and  other  officers,  as  well  as  for  the  Monday  gatherings 
of  ministers. 

After  these  many  wanderings  from  the  rear  of  one 
bookstore  to  another  the  Association  at  last  secured  an 
abode  of  its  own.  On  March  9,  1854,  rooms  for  the 
use  of  the  Association  were  opened  at  21  Bromfield 
Street.  On  this  occasion  a  small  company  came  to- 
gether, and  listened  to  an  address  by  Dr.  Samuel  K. 
Lothrop,  the  president  of  the  Association.  Another 
change  was  made  in  October,  1859,  when  Walker,  Wise 
&  Co.  undertook  the  book-selling  and  publishing  work 
of  the  Association  at  21  Bromfield  Street. 

In  the  year  1865  there  came  to  the  Association  an 
opportunity  for  securing  a  building  of  its  own.  The 
sum  of  $16,000  was  paid  for  a  house  at  26  Chauncy 
Street,  which  was  occupied  in  the  spring  of  1866.  The 
enlarged  activities  of  the  Association  at  this  time  here 
found  the  housing  they  needed.  Affiliated  organiza- 
tions also  found  a  home  in  this  building,  especially  the 
Sunday  School  Society,  the  Christian  Register  Associa- 
tion, and  The  Monthly  Religious  Magazine. 


GROWTH    OF   DENOMINATIONAL   CONSCIOUSNESS     237 

The  theatre  meetings,  begun  in  Boston  in  1866,  hav- 
ing suggested  the  need  of  a  larger  denominational 
building.  The  Monthly  Journal  of  November,  1867,  pro- 
posed the  erection  of  a  building  with  a  spacious  hall  for 
these  great  popular  meetings,  smaller  rooms  for  social 
gatherings,  offices  for  the  Association  and  other  affili- 
ated societies,  and  an  attractive  bookstore.  "  In  short, 
we  would  have  it  comprise  all  that  might  properly  be- 
long to  a  denominational  headquarters  or  home.  We 
would  have  it  in  a  convenient  and  conspicuous  situar 
tion,  and  every  way  worthy  of  our  position."  This 
dream  of  Mr.  Lowe's  he  brought  forward  again  in  his 
annual  report  of  1870,  when  he  said:  "The  building 
now  occupied  by  the  Association  has  become  wholly  in- 
adequate to  its  uses ;  and  steps  were  taken  more  than  a 
year  ago  by  its  friends  in  Boston  towards  providing 
more  suitable  accommodations,  and  at  the  same  time 
providing  in  connection  with  it  for  such  other  uses  as 
might  make  the  building  to  be  erected  worthy  to  be  the 
headquarters  of  the  denomination  in  the  city  which  gave 
it  birth."  Mr.  Shippen  called  attention  to  the  needs 
of  the  Association  in  his  report  of  1872,  saying  that 
the  project  of  a  large  hall  had  been  abandoned,  but 
that  there  was  urgent  demand  for  a  building  suited 
to  the  business  and  social  needs  of  the  denomination  in 
Boston. 

The  great  fire  of  November,  1872,  brought  this 
project  to  a  sudden  termination.  The  Chauucy  Street 
building  was  for  many  hours  in  danger  of  being  burned, 
but  it  was  finally  saved.  Its  market  value  was  much 
increased  by  the  fire,  however;  and  in  February,  1873, 
it  was  sold  for  $37,000.  Purchase  was  soon  made,  at  a 
cost  of  $30,000,  of  the  estate  at  7  Tremont  Place,  be- 


238  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

longing  to  Hon.  Albert  Fearing,  who  had  been  active  in 
the  work  of  the  Association  and  prominent  in  the  Uni- 
tarian circles  of  Boston.  This  building,  entered  by  the 
Association  in  May,  1873,  was  somewhat  larger  than  its 
predecessor  and  in  some  respects  better  suited  to  the 
needs  of  the  Association ;  yet  the  secretary,  at  the 
annual  meeting  held  in  the  same  month,  called  for  the 
more  convenient  building,  which  should  serve  "as  a 
worthy  centre  in  this  city  for  the  various  charitable  and 
missionary  activities  of  our  faith."  * 

In  his  report  of  1880  Mr.  Shippen  again  presented 
his  demand  for  a  suitable  home  for  the  Association  and 
its  kindred  organizations.  This  appeal  was  renewed  in 
the  following  year  by  Mr.  Reynolds,  who  urged  "the 
need  of  a  denominational  house  in  Boston,  which  should 
be  commodious,  accessible,  easily  found,  and  where  all 
our  charities  and  all  our  works  should  find  a  home." 
"Very  fitting  it  is,"  he  added,  "that  such  a  house  should 
be  named  after  him  who,  by  his  personal  influence  in 
life  and  by  the  power  of  his  written  word  after  his 
death,  has  been  the  mightiest  single  force  for  the  dif- 
fusion of  rational  Christianity." 

In  January,  1882,  the  Unitarian  Club  of  Boston  was 
organized ;  and  it  soon  after  took  up  the  task  of  erect- 
ing the  desired  building.  The  initiative  was  taken  at  a 
meeting  of  the  club  held  December  13,  1882,  when 
Mr.  Henry  P.  Kidder  offered  to  head  a  subscription  for 
this  purpose  with  the  sum  of  $10,000.  The  proposal 
was  received  with  much  enthusiasm,  and  a  committee 
was  appointed,  consisting  of  Henry  P.  Kidder,  Charles 
Faulkner,  Charles  W.  Eliot,  William  Endicott,  Jr., 
Francis  H.  Brown,  M.D.,  Dr.  John  Cordner,  Arthur  T. 

»  Annual  Report  of  1873,  7. 


American  l/nifarian^ssociation  Building 


GKOWTH   OF   DENOMINATIONAL   CONSCIOUSNESS     239 

Lyman,  Henry  Grew,  Thomas  Gaffield,  and  Rev.  Grin- 
dall  Reynolds,  to  whom  authority  was  given  to  raise 
funds,  purchase  a  lot,  and  erect  a  building.  It  was 
arranged  by  this  committee  that  the  Association  should 
contribute  $50,000  from  the  sale  of  its  Tremont  Place 
building,  and  that  the  club  should  raise  $150,000.  Sub- 
scriptions were  opened  February  9,  1883  ;  and  in  No- 
vember over  $154,000  had  been  secured.  A  suitable 
lot  was  purchased  at  the  corner  of  Beacon  and  Bowdoin 
Streets,  and  the  erection  of  the  building  was  begun  in 
1884.  A  prolonged  labor  strike  delayed  the  completion 
of  the  building,  so  that  the  service  of  its  dedication, 
wliich  had  been  arranged  for  the  evening  of  May  25, 
1886,  was  held  in  Tremont  Temple.  The  presiding 
officer  on  that  occasion  was  George  William  Curtis; 
and  addresses  were  made  by  Drs.  Frederic  H.  Hedge, 
Andrew  P.  Peabody,  and  Horatio  Stebbins.  In  July 
the  building  was  occupied  by  the  Association.  "The 
denominational  house  is  but  brick  and  stone,"  said  Mr. 
Reynolds  in  liis  report  of  1886;  "but  it  is  brick  and 
stone  which  testify  to  the  new  hope,  vigor,  life,  which 
have  been  coming  in  these  later  years  into  our  body, 
and  without  which  it  could  not  have  been  reared.  It 
is  brick  and  stone  which  are  the  pledges  of  a  noble 
future,  which  stimulate  to  good  work,  and  furnish  the 
means  of  doing  it."  * 

'  *  The  building  seemed  to  be  ample,  when  it  was  first  occupied,  for  any 
growth  that  was  likely  to  be  made  for  many  years  to  come.  At  the  pres- 
ent time,  only  sixteen  years  later,  it  is  crowded  ;  and  an  extension  is  ur- 
gently demanded.  It  does  not  now  afFord  room  for  the  work  required,  and 
much  of  that  work  is  done  at  a  considerable  disadvantage  because  of  the 
want  of  room.  The  promise  for  the  immediate  future  is  that  much  more 
room  will  be  required  in  order  to  facilitate  the  growing  work  of  the  As- 
sociation. 


240  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

The  last  twenty  years  of  the  nineteenth  century  saw 
an  increased  use  of  the  simpler  Christian 
Growth  of  the  j.^^gg  jj-^  Unitarian  churches.     In  that  time 
g  -j-^  a  distinct  advance  was  made  in  the  accept- 

ableness  of  the  communion  ser\T.ce,  and 
probably  in  the  number  of  those  willing  to  join  in  its 
observance.  The  abandonment  of  its  mystical  features 
and  its  interpretation  as  a  simple  memorial  service,  that 
would  help  to  cherish  loved  ones  gone  hence,  and  the 
saintly  and  heroic  of  all  ages,  as  well  as  the  one  great 
leader  of  the  Christian  body,  has  given  it  for  Unitarians 
a  new  spiritual  effectiveness.  The  same  causes  have 
led  to  the  adoption  of  the  rite  of  confirmation  in  a  con- 
siderable number  of  churches.  Gradually  the  idea  has 
grown  that  what  Rev.  Sylvester  Judd  called  "  the  birth- 
right church  "  is  the  true  one,  and  that  it  is  desirable 
that  all  children  should  be  religiously  trained,  and  ad- 
mitted to  the  church  at  the  age  of  adolescence.  Mr. 
Judd  gave  noble  utterance  to  this  conception  of  a 
church  in  a  series  of  sermons  published  after  his  death,* 
as  well  as  in  a  sermon  prepared  for  the  Thursday  lect- 
ure in  Boston.f  The  same  idea  was  elaborated  by 
Rev.  Cyrus  A.  Bartol  in  his  Church  and  Congregation : 

*  The  Church :  in  a  Series  of  Sermons,  Boston,  1857. 

t  The  Birthright  Church :  A  Discourse,  printed  for  the  Association  of 
the  Unitarian  Church  of  Maine,  Augusta,  1854.  Mr.  Judd's  conception  of 
the  church  as  a  social  organism  was  shown  in  the  name  given  to  the  or- 
ganization formed  under  his  leadership  in  1852,  called  The  Association  of 
the  Unitarian  Church  in  Maine.  In  the  preamble  to  the  constitution  he 
wrote:  "We,  the  Unitarian  Christians  of  Maine,  ourselves,  and  our  pos- 
terity are  a  Church.  .  .  .  We  are  a  church,  not  of  creeds,  but  of  the  Bible ; 
not  of  sect,  but  of  humanity ;  seeking  not  uniformity  of  dogma,  but  com- 
munion in  the  religious  life.  We  embrace  in  our  fellowship  all  who  will 
be  in  fellowship  with  us."  In  defining  a  local  church,  he  says:  "These 
Christians,  with  their  families,  uniting  for  religious  worship,  instruction, 
growth,  and  culture,  having  the  ordinances  and  a  pastor,  constitute  a 
parochial  church." 


GROWTH    OP   DENOMINATIONAL   CONSCIOUSNESS     241 

A  Plea  for  their  Unity,*  wherein  he  contended  for  the 
union  of  church  and  parish,  the  opening  of  the  com- 
munion to  all  as  a  rite  accepted  by  the  whole  congre- 
gation, and  not  by  a  few  church  members,  and  the  edu- 
cation of  children  as  constituent  members  of  the  church 
from  birth. 

It  was  not  until  much  later,  however,  that  the  rite 
of  confirmation  came  into  use,f  largely  because  of  the 
interpretations  of  the  purposes  and  methods  of  Chris- 
tian nurture  presented  by  Bushnell,  Bartol,  and  Judd. 
This  rite  could  have  meaning  only  as  the  expression  of 
social  responsibility  on  the  part  of  parents  and  church 
ahke,  that  true  religion  is  not  merely  a  question  of  in- 
di\adual  opinion,  but  that  there  is  high  worth  in  those 
spiritual  forces  that  are  carried  foi-ward  from  generation 
to  generation,  and  must  descend  from  parent  to  child 
if  they  have  effective  power.  In  a  word,  the  use  of 
the  confirmation  rite  is  an  abandonment  of  extreme  in- 
dividuahsm,  and  is  an  acceptance  of  the  socialistic  con- 
ception of  spiritual  development.:):  This  is  distinctly 
a  retm-n  to  the  conception  of  a  church  maintained  by 
Solomon  Stoddard  at  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  and  to  that  broader  Congregationahsm  he  de- 
sired to  see  established  throughout  New  England.  It 
was  also  theoretically  that  of  the  Puritan  founders  of 

*  Boston,  1858. 

t  Probably  Dr.  William  G.  Eliot,  of  St.  Louis,  was  the  first  Unitarian 
minister  to  make  a  systematic  use  of  this  rite.  He  prepared  a  brief  manual 
for  use  in  his  church,  the  preface  to  which  bears  date  of  December  6,  1868. 
Seth  C.  Beach,  while  minister  in  Dedham,  printed  a  paper  on  the  subject 
in  the  Unitarian  Review,  January,  1886.  He  held  a  confirmation  service  in 
the  Dedham  church,  April  25,  1886.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Western  Sun- 
day School  Society,  held  in  Cincinnati,  May  12, 1889,  Rev.  John  C.  Learned, 
read  a  paper  on  The  Sacrament  of  Confirmation. 

t  The  views  of  Bartol  and  Judd  are  appropriate  to  a  state  church,  wherein 
they  first  found  expression  ;  and  tlieir  motive  is  always  distinctly  social. 


242  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

New  England,  who  maintained  that  all  children  of 
church  members  were  also  members  of  the  church,  but 
who  inconsistently  insisted  upon  a  supernatural  con- 
version in  order  to  full  membership.  It  is  even  more 
positively  an  acceptance  of  the  theory  of  Christian  nurt- 
ure held  by  the  Catholic  and  the  Episcopal  churches. 
That  theory  is  based  on  the  social  conception  of  the 
church,  that  it  is  an  organic  body,  and  that  every  child 
is  born  into  it  and  is  to  be  trained  as  a  member  by  nat_ 
ure  and  by  right. 

There  has  also  been  a  marked  change  in  the  forms  of 
Sunday  worship,  especially  in  the  general  adoption  of 
responsive  readings  or  more  elaborate  rituals.  The 
tendency  has  been  away  from  the  bare  and  unattractive 
service  of  the  Puritan  churches,  which  was  the  acme  of 
individualism  in  worship,  towards  the  more  social  con- 
ception that  brings  the  whole  congregation  to  join  in 
the  act  and  in  the  spirit  of  devotion.  This  social  con- 
ception of  worship  had  its  first  distinct  expression  in  a 
Unitarian  church  when  James  Freeman  Clarke  ergan- 
ized  the  Church  of  the  Disciples,  in  1843.*  His  ex- 
ample was  a  potent  force  in  introducing  into  many 
churches  a  richer  and  more  expressive  form  of  worship. 
Another  influence  was  that  of  Samuel  Longfellow,  who 
became  the  minister  of  the  Second  Unitarian  Church  in 
Brooklyn,  in  1853.  He  soon  after  introduced  vesper 
services  in  place  of  the  second  sermon  in  the  afternoon, 
making  them  largely  devotional  in  their  character. 
"  His  own  taste  and  deep  feehng  were  largely  a  condi- 
tion of  the  full  success  of  the  vespers,"  says  his  bi- 
ographer, "  which  were  seldom  elsewhere  so  impressive 
or  seemed  so  genuine  as  a  devotional  act.    They  needed, 

*  Life  of  J.  F.  Clarke,  by  E.  E.  Hale,  145. 


GROWTH   OF   DENOMINATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS     243 

for  their  perfect  effect,  the  influence  of  a  leader  with 
whom  worship  was  an  habitual  mental  attitude,  and  who 
combined  with  the  instinct  of  rehgion  the  art  of  a  poet 
and  of  a  musician."  *  The  form  of  service  thus  initi- 
ated was  adopted  in  many  other  churches,  and  slowly 
had  its  influence  in  giving  greater  beauty  and  spiritual 
expressiveness  to  worship  in  Unitarian  churches. 

About  1885  the  tendency  to  adopt  a  more  social  and 
a  more  aesthetic  form  of  worship  came  to  assert  itself 
more  distinctly.  To  its  furtherance  Rev.  Howard  N. 
Brown  gave,  perhaps,  greater  emphasis  than  any  other 
person ;  but  there  were  others  who  took  an  active  part 
in  the  movement.  The  old  Congregational  demand  for 
simplicity,  however,  was  very  great ;  and  there  was  a 
strong  feeling  against  anything  hke  rituahsm.  The  use 
of  some  kind  of  liturgy  became  quite  general  in  the 
face  of  this  objection,  and  a  considerable  number  of 
books  of  a  semi-ritual  character  were  published.  The 
most  elaborate  work  of  this  nature  was  compiled  by  a 
committee  appointed  by  the  Unitarian  Association,  and 
published  by  it  in  1891.  What  is  to  be  recognized  in 
this  tendency  is  not  the  more  general  use  of  liturgies, 
however  simple  or  however  elaborate,  but  the  growth 
in  Unitarian  churches  of  the  worshipping  spirit.  With 
the  development  of  a  rational  theology  there  has  been  a 
corresponding  evolution  of  a  simple  but  earnest  attitude 
of  devotion. 

The  devotional  spirit  of  Unitarians,  however,  has 
found  its  most  emphatic  and  beautiful  expression  in  re- 
ligious hymns  and  poems.  The  older  Unitarian  piety 
found  voice  in  the  hymns  of  the  younger  Henry  Ware, 
Norton,  Pierpont,  Frotliingham,  Peabody,  Lunt,  Bryant, 

*  Memoir  of  Samuel  Longfellow,  by  Joseph  May,  193. 


244  UNITAKIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

and  many  others.  It  was  rational  and  yet  Christian, 
simple  in  sentiment  and  yet  it  found  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment traditions  its  themes  and  its  symbolisms.  Then 
followed  the  older  transcendentahsts,  who  sought  in  the 
inward  life  and  the  soul's  oneness  with  God  the  chief 
motives  to  spiritual  expression.  The  hymns  and  the 
religious  poems  of  Furness,  Hedge,  Longfellow,  John- 
son, Clarke,  Very,  Brooks,  and  Miss  Scudder,*  have  an 
interior  and  spiritual  quality  seldom  found  in  devotional 
poetry.  They  are  not  the  mere  utterances  of  conven- 
tional sentiments  or  the  repetition  of  ecclesiastical  sym- 
bolisms, but  the  voicing  of  deep  inward  experiences 
that  reveal  and  interpret  the  true  life  of  the  soul.  Of 
the  same  character  are  the  hj-mns  and  religious  poems 
of  Gannett,  Hosmer,  and  Chadwick,  who  have  but  ac- 
centuated the  tendencies  of  their  predecessors.  It  is 
the  more  radical  theology  that  has  voiced  itself  in  the 
religious  songs  of  these  men,  but  with  a  mystical  or 
spiritual  insight  that  fits  them  to  the  needs  of  all  de- 
vout worshippers.  It  is  these  genuinely  poetical  inter- 
pretations of  the  spiritual  life  that  most  often  claim 
utterance  in  song  on  the  part  of  Unitarian  congrega- 
tions. A  body  of  worshippers  that  can  produce  such  a 
hymnology  must  possess  a  large  measm'e  of  genuine 
piety  and  devotion. 

Many  of  the  tendencies  of  the  Unitarian  movement 

found  utterance  on  the  occasion  of  the 

The  Seventy-fifth  ,     no.-t  •  £  xi,       a  • 

,     .  seventy-nith  anmversary  or  the  Ameri- 

Anniversary.  '^  -f 

can  Unitarian  Association.  The  meet- 
ings were  held  in  Tremont  Temple,  May  22,  1900 ;  and 
the  attendance  was  large  and  enthusiastic,  many  persons 

*  Miss  Scudder's  best  hymns  were  all  written  while  she  was  a  Unitarian. 
Unitarian  hymnology  has  been  nobly  treated  by  Dr.  Alfred  P.  Putnam,  in 


GROWTH   OF   DENOMINATIONAL   CONSCIOUSNESS     245 

coming  from  distant  parts  of  the  country.  This  meet- 
ing brought  into  full  expression  the  denominational 
consciousness,  and  showed  the  harmony  that  had  been 
secured  as  the  result  of  the  controversies  of  many  years. 
As  never  before,  it  was  realized  that  the  Unitarian  body 
has  a  distinct  mission,  that  it  has  organic  and  vital 
power,  and  that  its  individual  members  are  united  by  a 
common  faith  for  the  promotion  of  tlie  interests  of  a 
rational  and  humanitarian  rehgion. 

This  was  also  a  notable  occasion  because  it  brought 
together  representatives  from  nearly  all  the  countries 
in  wliich  Unitarianism  exists  in  an  organized  form,  thus 
clearly  indicating  that  it  is  a  cosmopolitan  movement, 
and  not  one  of  merely  local  significance.  At  the  morning 
session  addresses  were  made  by  the  representatives  from 
Hungary,  Great  Britain,  Germany,  Belgium,  India,  and 
Japan.  In  the  afternoon  addresses  were  delivered  by 
the  missionaries  of  the  Association.  Other  meetings  of 
much  interest  were  held  during  the  week,  that  were  of 
value  as  interpretations  of  the  past  of  Unitarianism  in 
this  country. 

During  this  anniversary  week,  on  May  26,  1900, 
upon  the  suggestion  of  Rev.  S.  A.  Eliot,  there  was  or- 
ganized The  International  Council  of  Unitarian  and 
Other  Liberal  Religious  Thinkers  and  Workers,  its  ob- 
ject being  "to  open  communication  with  those  in  all 
lands  who  are  striving  to  unite  pure  religion  and  per- 
fect liberty,  and  to  increase  fellowship  and  co-operation 
among  them."  Professor  J.  Estlin  Carpenter,  of  Ox- 
ford, England,  was  selected  as  the  president,  and  Rev. 

his  Singers  and  Songs  of  the  Liberal  Faith,  Boston,  1875.  It  is  understood 
that  he  is  preparing  a  second  volume.  The  tendency  to  a  deeper  recogni- 
tion of  the  spirit  of  worship  has  found  fitting  expression  in  The  Spiritual 
Life  :  Studies  of  Devotion  aiul  Worship,  George  H.  Ellis,  1898. 


246  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

Charles  W.  Wendte,  who  shortly  after  became  the 
mmister  of  the  Parker  Memorial  in  Boston,  was  made 
the  secretary.  The  executive  committee  included 
representatives  from  the  United  States,  Great  Britain, 
Japan,  Hungary,  Germany,  France,  Italy,  Belgium,  and 
Switzerland.  The  first  annual  meeting  was  held  in 
London,  May  30  and  31,  1901,  with  delegates  present 
from  the  above-named  countries,  as  well  as  from  Hol- 
land, Norway,  India,  Denmark,  Australia,  and  Canada.* 
The  anniversary  exercises,  as  well  as  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  International  Council,  gave  concrete  em- 
phasis to  the  growing  interest  in  Unitarian  ideas  and 
principles  in  many  parts  of  the  world.  They  gave  the 
sense  of  a  large  fellowship,  and  kindled  new  enthu- 
siasm. As  interpreted  by  these  meetings,  the  Unitarian 
name  has  largely  ceased  to  be  one  of  merely  theo- 
logical signification,  and  has  come  to  mean  "  an  en- 
deavor to  unite  for  common  and  unselfish  endeavors 
all  believers  in  pure  religion  and  perfect  liberty."  f 

*  The  addresses  and  papers  of  this  meeting  were  published  under  the 
title  of  Liberal  Religious  Thought  at  the  Beginning  of  the  Twentieth  Cen- 
tury, London,  lfK)l.  They  give  the  most  complete  account  yet  piiblished 
of  the  various  liberal  movements  in  many  parts  of  the  world,  and  the  book 
is  one  of  great  interest  and  value. 

t  From  the  first  circular  of  the  International  Council. 


X. 

THE   MINISTRY   AT   LARGE. 

One  of  the  most  important  of  the  philanthropies  un- 
dertaken by  the  early  Unitarians  was  the  ministry  to  the 
poor  and  unchurched  in  Boston,  usually  known  as  the 
ministry  at  large.  It  began  in  1822,  came  under  the 
dii'ection  of  the  American  Unitarian  Association  and  the 
shaping  hand  of  Dr.  Joseph  Tuckerman  in  1826,  and  was 
taken  in  charge  by  the  Benevolent  Fraternity  of  Churches 
in  1834.  It  was  not  begun  by  Tuckerman,  though  its 
origin  is  usually  attributed  to  him.  Even  before  1822 
attempts  had  been  made  to  establish  missions  amongst 
the  poor  by  the  evangelical  denominations;  but  their 
work  was  not  thoroughly  organized,  and  it  had  reached 
no  efficient  results  when  Tuckerman  entered  upon  his 
labors.  The  work  of  Tuckerman  was  to  take  up  what 
had  been  tentatively  begun  by  others,  give  it  a  definite 
purpose  and  method,  and  so  to  inform  it  with  his  own 
genius  for  charity  that  it  became  a  great  philanthropy  in 
its  intent  and  in  its  methods. 

When  the    Hancock    Grammar   School-house  in  the 

north  end    of   Boston  was  being    erected, 

Association  of  ,^  young  man,  m  passing  it  on  a  Septem- 

Young  Men.  ''         ^  .  .  ,  ■\,ti_ 

ber  evennig,  said  to  a  compamon,  "  Why 

cannot  we  have  a  Sunday-school  here  ?  "  The  proposi- 
tion was  received  with  favor,  and  the  two  discussed 
plans  while  they  continued  their  walk.  They  met  fre- 
quently to  mature  their  methods  of  procedure,  and  they 


248  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

invited  others  to  join  them  in  the  undertaking.  On  the 
evening  of  October  2,  1822,  these  two  young  men  — 
Frederick  T.  Gray  and  Benjamin  H.  Greene  —  met  with 
Moses  Grant,  WilHam  P.  Rice,  and  others,  to  give  more 
careful  consideration  to  their  purpose  of  forming  a  soci- 
ety for  mutual  religious  improvement.* 

These  young  men  met  with  little  encouragement,  and 
for  some  time  there  was  small  prospect  of  their  succeed- 
ing in  their  midertaking.  They  continued  to  meet 
weekly,  however ;  and  on  November  27  they  formed  The 
Association  of  Young  Men  for  their  own  Mutual  Im- 
provement and  for  the  Religious  Instruction  of  the  Poor. 
In  1824  the  name  was  changed  to  The  Association  for 
Religious  Improvement.  The  members  met  at  each 
other's  houses  weekly,  for  the  purpose  of  considering 
topics  which  related  to  their  own  personal  improvement 
or  to  the  wants  of  the  community,  always  keeping  in 
view  the  fact  that  their  own  rehgious  growth  must  he  at 
the  foundation  of  any  great  good  which  could  be  done 
by  them  for  society.  By  degrees  their  number  in- 
creased ;  and  during  the  six  years  following,  as  appears 
from  the  records,  the  subjects  to  wliich  their  meetings 
were  successively  devoted  were  the  desirableness  of  em- 
ploying a  missionary  and  building  a  mission-house,  the 
condition  and  wants  of  vagrant  children,  the  diffusion  of 
Christianity  in  India,  the  importance  of  issumg  tracts 

*  The  record  of  the  first  meeting  states  the  objects  for  which  the  young 
men  met,  as  follows:  "Feeling  impressed  with  the  importance  of  giving 
religious  instruction  to  the  youths  of  that  class  of  our  poor  who  are  desti- 
tute of  any  regard  for  their  future  well-being,  and  who,  from  being  under 
the  care  of  vicious  parents,  have  no  attention  paid  to  their  moral  conduct ; 
and  also  wishing  to  become  acquainted  with  those  persons  of  the  different 
religious  societies  who  profess  to  be  followers  of  the  same  Master,  they 
agreed  to  associate  themselves.  Having  great  reason  to  believe  that  God 
will  bless  their  humble  efforts  for  the  spread  of  pure  religion  and  virtue, 
and  looking  to  Him  for  guidance,  the  meeting  was  organized." 


THE   MINISTRY   AT   LARGE  249 

and  other  religious  publications,  the  means  and  best 
method  of  improving  our  state  prisons,  the  utility  of 
forming  a  Unitarian  Association,  the  best  means  to  be 
adopted  to  abolish  intemperance,  the  character  of  theat- 
rical entertainments,  the  want  of  infant  schools,  and  the 
best  methods  wliich  could  be  taken  to  aid  in  the  promo- 
tion of  peace.  All  of  these  subjects  were  then  compara- 
tively new,  and  they  were  but  just  beginning  to  attract, 
attention.  Their  importance  was  by  no  means  generally/ 
understood,  and  least  of  all  was  the  place  which  they 
were  soon  to  occupy  in  pubHc  estimation  anticipated.* 
The  Association  was  discontinued  in  December,  1835. 
One  of  the  first  enterprises  entered  upon  by  this  so- 
ciety was  the  securing  of  preaching  for  the 
reac  ing  o  ^^^^  ^^^  those  connected  with  no  rehgious  j 
organization.  In  this  effort  they  had  the 
co-operation  of  the  younger  Henry  Ware,  then  the  min- 
ister of  the  Second  Church,  and  of  John  G.  Palfrey, 
then  the  minister  of  the  Brattle  Street  Church.  In  No- 
vember, 1822,  Henry  Ware  began  these  meetings;  and 
four  series  of  them  were  held  throughout  the  winter,  in 
Charter  Street,  in  Hatters'  or  Creek  Square,  in  Pitts 
Court,  and  m  Spring  Street.  The  Charter  Street  meet- 
ings were  at  first  held  in  a  room  of  a  primary  school,  and 
then  in  a  small  chapel  that  had  been  built  by  a  benevo- 
lent man  for  teaching  and  preaching  purposes.  In  this 
place  Mr.  Ware  was  assisted  by  Dr.  Jenks  of  the  Chris- 
tian denomination,  and  the  chapel  was  afterwards  occu- 
pied by  the  latter  as  a  minister  at  large.  The  meetings 
in  Pitts  Court  were  also  held  in  a  school-room.  Those  in 
Hatters'  Square  occupied  a  room  in  a  large  tenement 
house,   and  "here    the   accommodations,   and  probably 

*  Ephraim  Peabody,  ChriatjaiL  Examiner.  Jaaaary.  1853,  LIV.  93. 


250  UNITAEIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

the  audience,  were  of  a  humbler  character  than  else- 
where." * 

Early  in  the  year  1826  Dr.  Joseph  Tuckerman  ex- 
pressed his  wilhngness  to  devote  himself 
Tuckerman  as  ^^  ^j^g  ministry ;   and  the  American  Uni- 
the  Poor  tarian   Association  was    appealed   to,  that 

the  necessary  financial  support  might  be 
secured.  Dr.  Tuckerman  had  been  for  twenty-five  years 
the  parish  minister  in  Chelsea,  but  his  health  was  such 
that  he  had  been  obliged  to  relinquish  that  position. 
On  September  4  the  sum  of  $600  was  appropriated 
to  the  support  of  Dr.  Tuckerman  for  one  year  as  a 
missionary  among  the  poor  m  Boston;  and  Ware, 
Barrett,  and  Gannett  were  made  a  committee  to  ascer- 
tain what  amount  of  money  could  be  raised  for  this 
purpose.  It  was  thought  wise  not  to  use  the  regular 
funds  of  the  Association  for  so  special  and  local  an 
object.  The  women  of  the  Boston  churches  were 
therefore  appealed  to  in  behalf  of  this  cause ;  and 
during  the  first  year  contributions  were  received  from 
those  connected  with  the  congregations  of  the  Brattle 
Street,  Federal  Street,  West,  New  South,  New  North, 
I  Twelfth,  and  Chauncey  Place  Churches,  amounting 
(ito  $712.  These  contributions  by  the  women  of  the 
churches  were  continued  until  the  Benevolent  Frater- 
nity was  organized. 

Tuckerman  entered  upon  his  work  November  6, 1826. 
On  the  evening  of  that  day  he  met  with  the  Association 
for  Religious  Improvement,  and  discussed  with  its  mem- 
bers the  work  to  be  undertaken.  He  began  at  once  the 
visiting  of  the  poor  and  the  study  of  their  condition  in 
the  several  parts  of  the  city,  though  confining  himself 

*  John  Ware,  Life  of  Henry  Ware,  Jr.,  132-135. 


Joseph  TucKgrman        ^ 


THE   MINISTRY   AT   LARGE  251 

largely  to  the  north  end.  In  making  his  first  quarterly 
report  to  the  Unitarian  Association,  February  5,  1827, 
he  said  that  he  had  taken  fifty  families  into  his  pastoral 
charge.  He  had  given  special  attention  to  the  children, 
had  arranged  that  those  should  be  sent  to  school  who 
had  not  previously  attended,  and  provided  them  with 
shoes  and  clothes  where  these  were  necessary.  He  had 
also  aided  the  sick,  provided  necessaries  for  those  who 
were  helpless  and  deserving,  secured  work  for  those  out 
of  employment,  and  given  religious  consolation  and  cor- 
rection where  these  were  required. 

After  Dr.  Tuckerman  had  entered  upon  his  work  of 
visiting  the  poor,  the  Young  Men's  Association  arranged 
to  have  him  resume  the  discontinued  evening  meetings. 
They  accordingly  secured  the  use  of  a  room  up  two 
flights  of  stall's,  in  what  was  known  as  the  "  Circular 
Building,"  at  the  corner  of  Merrimac  and  Portland 
Streets.  In  this  rude  place,  that  had  been  used  as 
a  paint-shop,  services  were  begun  on  Sunday  evening, 
December  3,  1826.  Tuckerman  recorded  in  his  diary 
that  he  had  "  a  large  and  very  attentive  audience  "  ;  * 
and  on  the  same  evening  he  met  at  the  house  of  Dr. 
Channing  "  a  large  circle  of  ladies  and  gentlemen,  who 
formed  a  society  to  help  him  visit."  f  As  soon  as  ser- 
vices were  begun  in  the  Circular  Building,  it  was  pro- 
posed to  form  a  Sunday-school ;  and  on  a  very  cold  De- 
cember day  seven  teachers  and  three  children  met  to 
inaugurate  it.     They  liovered  about  the  little  stove,  by 

*  The  secretary  of  the  Association  for  Religious  Improvement  made  this 
record  of  the  meeting:  "Decembers,  182(3.  The  Lectures  under  the  con- 
duct of  the  Association  commenced  this  evening  at  6i  o'clock  at  Smith's 
circular  building,  corner  of  Merrimack  and  Portland  Streets,  which  was 
very  fully  attended  by  those  for  whom  it  was  intended.  The  services  were 
of  the  first  order.     Rev.  Dr.  Tuckerman  officiated." 

t  Eber  R.  Butler,  Lend  a  Hand,  V.  693,  October.  1890. 


252  TJNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

means  of  which  the  room  was  warmed,  and  began  their 
work.  The  school  grew  rapidly,  soon  filled  the  room, 
and  was  given  the  name  of  the  Howard  School.  Very- 
soon,  also,  this  room  became  too  small  to  accommodate 
the  attendants  at  the  preaching  services.  In  recogni- 
tion of  this  need  the  Friend  Street  Free  Chapel  was 
erected,  and  opened  for  use  on  November  1,  1828. 
During  the  first  year  of  his  ministry  Dr.  Tuckerman 

reported  quarterly  to  the  American  Unita- 
M  th  d  ^^^^   Association,   and   then   semi-annually. 

In  all  there  were  printed  four  of  the  quar- 
terly reports  and  fifteen  of  the  others.  It  was  not  his 
custom  in  these  reports  to  confine  himself  to  an  account 
of  his  work,  which  usually  received  only  a  brief  state- 
ment at  the  end ;  but  he  discussed  important  topics  re- 
lating to  the  condition  of  the  poor  and  their  needs.  His 
third  quarterly  report  was  devoted  to  a  consideration  of 
the  remedies  to  be  used  for  confirmed  intemperance. 
Others  of  the  topics  upon  which  he  reported  were  the 
condition  of  the  poor  in  cities,  the  duties  of  a  minister 
at  large  (a  title  invented  by  him,  wliich  he  preferred  to 
that  of  city  or  domestic  missionary),  the  effects  of  pov- 
erty on  the  moral  life  of  the  poor,  the  means  of  relieving 
pauperism,  the  causes  of  poverty  and  the  social  rem- 
edies, the  several  classes  amongst  the  poor  and  the  best 
means  of  reaching  each  of  them,  the  means  to  be  em- 
ployed for  the  recovery  of  those  sunk  in  pauperism, 
poor  laws  and  outdoor  relief.  Among  the  subjects  he 
discussed  incidentally,  and  sometimes  at  considerable 
length,  were  the  duty  of  providing  seats  for  the  poor  in 
the  churches  at  a  small  rental,  the  employment  of  chil- 
dren, education  as  a  means  of  saving  children  from 
growing  up  to  a  life   of  vagrancy  and  pauperism,  the 


THE    MINISTEY    AT    LARGE  253 

wages  of  the  poor  and  how  they  can  be  increased.*  He 
was  especially  interested  in  the  rescuing  of  children 
from  ignorance  and  vice,  and  he  strongly  advocated 
the  establishment  of  schools  for  the  instruction  of  dull 
children  and  those  whose  education  had  been  neglected. 
Through  his  efforts  the  Broad  Street  Infant  School  was 
established,  in  order  to  reach  the  younger  children  of 
the  poor.  In  1829  he  made  a  careful  study  of  the  re- 
ligious condition  of  the  poor ;  and  he  found  that  out  of 
a  population  of  55,000,  which  the  city  then  contained, 
there  were  4,200  families,  or  about  18,000  persons,  who 
were  not  connected  with  any  of  the  churches  or  who  did 
not  attend  them  with  any  degree  of  regularity.  This 
gave  him  an  opportunity  to  urge  upon  the  public  more 
strongly  than  before  the  importance  of  procuring  free 
chapels,  and  a  sufficient  number  of  ministers  to  care  for 
this  large  unchurched  population.  One  or  two  min- 
isters had  labored  amongst  the  poor  before  he  began  his 
work,  and  three  or  four  had  entered  upon  the  same  line 
of  effort  since  he  had  done  so ;  but  these  workers  were 
too  few  in  number  to  meet  the  large  demands  made 
upon  them. 

In  carrying  on  his  work.  Dr.  Tuckerman  sought  out 
all  who  were  in  need  of  his  services,  without  distinction 
of  nationality,  color,  creed,  social  position,  or  moral  con- 
dition. If  he  gave  the  preference  to  any,  it  was  those 
who  were  the  most  wretched  and  debased.  "  It  is  the 
first  object  of  the  ministry  at  large,  never  to  be  lost 
sight  of,"  he  wrote,  "  and  to  which  no  other  is  to  be 
preferred,  as  far  as  shall  be  possible  to  extend  its  offices 
to  the  poor  and  the  poorest,  to  the  low  and  the  lowest, 

*  The  substance  of  these  reports  has  been  reproduced  in  a  book  edited 
by  E.  E.  Hale  in  1874,  Joseph  Tuckerman  on  the  Elevation  of  the  Poor. 


254  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

to  the  most  friendless  and  most  uncared  for,  the  most 
miserable."  *  He  recognized  the  individuality  of  the 
poorest  and  the  most  vicious:  he  sought  to  foster  it, 
and  to  make  it  the  basis  of  moral  reform  and  social  re- 
covery. 

The  influence   of  Tuckerman's  work  was   soon  felt 

outside  the  city  in  which  it  was  carried  on. 
Organization  rpj^g  ^^   ^f  ^j^^  g^^^^  ^^^^  ^^  ^^^^  ^^^  .^_ 

of  Charities.   ^         ,    .       .  .  p     ,     ,         .  .      .   , 

terest  m  it,  and  to  reel  that  its  principles 

should  be  applied  throughout  the  commonwealth. 
Therefore,  a  commission  was  appointed  by  the  lower 
house  of  the  state  legislature,  February  29,  1832,  to 
inquire  into  the  condition  of  the  poor  in  all  parts  of  the 
state,  and  to  make  such  report  as  might  be  the  basis 
of  needed  legislation.  Dr.  Tuckerman  was  made  a 
member  of  this  commission.  The  work  of  investigation 
largely  fell  upon  him,  as  well  as  the  writing  of  the  re- 
port. His  suggestions  were  accepted,  and  the  results 
were  beneficent.  In  the  mean  time  the  work  of  visit- 
ing the  poor  was  carried  on  by  a  young  man,  Charles 
F.  Barnard,  then  a  student  in  the  Divinity  School,  who 
entered  upon  his  duties  in  April.  In  October  he  was 
joined  by  Frederick  T.  Gray,  the  founder  of  the  Asso- 
ciation for  Religious  Improvement  and  of  the  first  Sun- 
day-schools for  the  poor.  These  workers  were  ordained 
in  the  Federal  Street  Church  on  the  evening  of  No- 
vember 5,  1834,  after  having  thoroughly  tested  their 
capacities  for  the  task  they  had  assumed. 

Dr.  Tuckerman  set  forth  all  the  principles  which 
have  since  been  described  under  the  name  of  "  scien- 
tific charity,"  and  he  put  them  all  into  practice.  In  the 
spring  of  1832  he  organized  a  company  of  visitors  to 

♦The  Principles  and  Results  of  the  Ministry  at  Large  in  Boston,  61. 


THE   MINISTEY   AT   LARGE  255 

the  poor,  the  members  of  which  were  to  act  as  friends 
and  advisers  of  those  who  were  needy.  In  October, 
1833,  he  brought  about  a  union  of  the  ministers  at  large 
of  all  denommations  for  purposes  of  consultation  and 
mutual  helpfulness.  This  union  resulted  in  a  meeting 
held  in  February,  1834,  at  which  those  interested  in 
the  proper  care  of  the  poor  took  counsel  together  as  to 
the  best  methods  to  be  followed.  At  a  later  meeting  in 
March,  it  was  decided  to  secure  the  aid  of  all  the  chari- 
table societies  in  the  city  with  a  view  to  their  co-opera- 
tion and  the  prevention  of  the  duplication  of  relief. 
There  was  accordingly  organized  the  Association  of 
Delegates  from  the  Benevolent  Societies  of  Boston,  the 
objects  of  which  were  "  to  adopt  measures  for  the  most 
effectual  prevention  of  fraud  and  deception  in  the  ap- 
plicants for  charity;  to  obtain  accurate  and  thorough 
information  with  regard  to  the  situation,  character,  and 
wants  of  the  poor ;  and  generally  to  interchange  knowl- 
edge, experience,  and  advice  upon  all  the  important  sub- 
jects connected  with  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of 
Benevolent  Societies."  The  principle  upon  which  this 
organization  acted  was  that  "  the  pubhc  good  requires 
that  the  character  and  circumstances  of  the  poor  should 
be  thoroughly  investigated  and  known  by  those  who 
administer  our  public  charities,  in  order  that  all  the  re- 
lief which  a  pure  and  enlarged  benevolence  dictates 
may  be  freely  bestowed,  and  that  almsgiving  may  not 
encourage  extravagance  or  vice,  nor  injuriously  affect 
the  claims  of  society  at  large  upon  the  personal  exer- 
tions and  moral  character  of  its  members."  The  first 
annual  report  of  this  Association,  which  appeared  in 
October,  1835,  was  written  by  Dr.  Tuckerman,  and  was 
one  of  the  best   he   produced.     He   laid  down  certain 


256  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

rules  he  had  accepted  as  the  results  of  liis  experience : 
that  beggary  was  to  be  broken  up ;  that  all  misapplica- 
tions of  charity  should  be  reported  to  the  board  of  visi- 
tors ;  that  those  asking  for  alms  should  be  relieved  only 
at  their  homes  and  after  investigation;  that  industry, 
forethought,  economy,  and  self-denial  were  to  be  fos- 
tered in  order  to  prevent  pauperism,  and  that  no  help 
should  be  given  where  it  led  to  dependence  and  reliance 
upon  charity.  Registration,  investigation,  prevention 
of  duphcation  of  alms,  and  the  fostering  of  self-help 
were  the  methods  brought  to  bear  by  Dr.  Tuckerman 
in  the  organization  of  this  Association.* 

In   the  spring  of   1834  the  part  of  the  ministry  at 
large    in    Boston    supported    by   Unitarians 

enevo  en       consisted  of  Dr.  Tuckerman's  work  in  visit- 
Fraternity       .  ,      .   .        , 
of  Churches.  ^^'^S  ^^^  ministermg  to  the  poor  in  their  own 

homes,  two  chapels,  in  which  Barnard  and 
Gray  preached  and  conducted  their  Sunday-schools,  and 
the  office  of  the  Visitors  to  the  Poor.  In  order  more 
effectually  to  organize  the  support  of  this  work,  the 
Benevolent  Fraternity  of  Churches  was  then  suggested. 
The  Second,  Brattle  Street,  New  South,  New  North, 
King's  Chapel,  Federal  Street,  Hollis  Street,  Twelfth, 
and  Purchase  Street  Churches  entered  upon  the  work  ; 
and  there  was  organized  in  each  a  society  for  the  pur- 
pose of  aiding  the  ministry  at  large.  Each  of  these 
societies  was  privileged  to  send  five  delegates  to  a  cen- 
tral body  that  should  undertake  the  support  and  direc- 
tion of  that  ministry.  At  a  meeting  held  April  27, 
1834,  an  organization  of  such  delegates  was  effected. 
It  was  distinctly  stated  that  "  it  was  not  the  wish  to 
add  another  to  the  eleemosynary  institutions  of  the  city 

•Ministry  at  Large  in  Boston,  124. 


THE   MINISTIIY    AT   LARGE  257 

to  which  the  poor  might  resort  either  for  the  supply  of 
the  comforts  or  for  the  rehef  of  necessities  whicli  belong- 
to  their  bodily  condition  " ;  but  the  object  of  the  Fra- 
ternity was  described  as  being  "  the  improvement  of  the 
moral  state  of  the  poor  and  irreligious  of  this  city  by 
the  support  of  the  ministry  at  large,  and  by  other 
means."  * 

Dr.  Tuckerman  continued  liis  work  of  visiting  the 
poor,  so  far  as  his  health  f)ermitted,  until 
Other  Ministers  j^-^  ^^^^^j    ^^^^^  occurred  April  20,  1840. 
at  Large. 

His  assistants   and   successors   continued 

the  work  of  visitation  outside  of  their  own  congrega- 
tions. In  August,  1844,  Rev.  Warren  Burton  was 
assigned  to  tliis  special  form  of  ministry,  and  to  that  of 
a  systematic  investigation  of  the  condition  of  the  poor. 
He  gave  much  attention  to  the  needs  of  children,  and 
made  inquiry  as  to  intemperance,  licentiousness,  and 
other  forms  of  social  degeneration.  He  was  a  dihgent 
and  successful  worker  until  his  ministry  came  to  an  end 
in  October,  1848.  For  about  a  year,  in  1847,  Rev. 
William  Ware  also  devoted  himself  to  the  house-to- 
house  ministry ;  but  failing  health  compelled  his  with- 

*  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  churches  now  maintained  by  the  Benevo- 
lent Fraternity  of  Churches,  with  the  date  when  each  was  formed,  or  when 
it  came  under  Unitarian  managrement :  Bulfineh  Place  Church,  successor  to 
Friend  Street  Chapel  (182<S) ;  Pitts  Street  Chapel  (1836),  1870.  North  End 
Union  (begun  in  1837) ;  Hanover  Street  Chapel  (1854) ;  Parmenter  Street 
Chapel  (1884),  1892.  Morgan  Chapel,  1884.  Channing  Church,  Dorchester, 
successor  to  Washington  Village  Chapel,  1854.  The  Suffolk  Street  Chapel 
(1837),  succeeded  by  the  New  South  Free  Church  (1867),  continues  its  life  in 
the  Parker  Memorial,  1889.  The  Warren  Street  Chapel  (1832),  now  known 
as  the  Barnard  Memorial  Church,  continues  its  work,  but  is  not  under  the 
direction  of  the  Benevolent  Fraternitj%  In  1901  the  churches  constituting 
the  Benevolent  Fraternity  were  the  First  Church,  Second  Church,  Arling- 
ton Street  Church,  South  Congregational  Church,  King's  Chapel,  Church 
of  the  Disciples  ;  First  Parish,  Dorchester ;  First  Parish,  Brighton  ;  Hawes 
Church,  South  Boston  ;  First  Parish,  West  Roxbury ;  First  Congregational 
Society,  Jamaica  Plain. 


268  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

drawal.  In  April,  1845,  Rev.  Andrew  Bigelow  took 
charge  of  the  Pitts  Street  Chapel  for  a  few  months ;  and 
then  for  thirty-two  years,  until  his  death,  in  April, 
1877,  he  continued  to  visit  the  poor.  With  the  assist- 
ance of  his  wife,  he  went  about  to  the  homes  of  the 
people,  administering  to  their  physical  needs,  acting  as 
their  friend  and  adviser,  and  giving  them  such  moral 
instruction  and   spiritual  consolation  as  was   possible. 

For  about  one  year,  beginning  in  March,  1856,  Rev. 
A.  Rumpff  visited  German  families  in  behalf  of  the 
Fraternity.  He  was  succeeded  in  1857  by  Rev.  A. 
tjbelacker,  who  continued  the  work  for  two  or  three 
years.  From  1860  to  1864  Professor  J.  B.  Torricelli 
carried  on  a  ministry  amongst  the  Italians,  Spaniards, 
Greeks,  and  other  natives  of  southern  Europe  resident 
in  Boston.  After  the  death  of  Dr.  Bigelow  this  per- 
sonal ministry  was  discontinued,  owing  to  the  increase 
in  the  number  of  other  agencies  for  doing  this  kind  of 
work. 

The  work  of  the  ministry  at  large  was  not  confined 
to  Boston.  The  original  vote  of  the 
■    0th  r  C"f  Unitarian    Association     establishing    it 

was  that  it  should  be  aided  in  New 
York  as  well.  In  December,  1836,  Rev.  William 
Henry  Channing  entered  on  such  a  ministry  in  New 
York ;  and  it  was  continued  there  for  some  years.  It 
was  also  established  in  Charlestown,  Roxbury,  Cam- 
bridge, Salem,  Portsmouth,  Portland,  Lowell,  New  Bed- 
ford, Providence,  Worcester,  and  elsewhere  in  New 
England.  With  the  aid  of  the  Unitarian  Association 
it  was  undertaken  in  Baltimore,  Cincinnati,  Louisville, 
and  St,  Louis.  In  1845  Rev.  Lemuel  Capen  was  carry- 
ing on  the  ministry  in  Baltimore,  Rev.  W.  H.  Farmer 


THE   MINISTRY    AT    LARGE  259 

in  Louisville,  and  Rev.  Mordecai  de  Lange  in  St.  Louis. 
The  ministry  at  large  was  begun  in  Cincinnati  in  1830, 
and  was  in  charge  for  a  short  time  of  Christopher  P. 
Cranch,  who  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  James  H.  Perkins, 
a  most  efficient  worker,  who  soon  became  the  popular 
minister  of  the  Unitarian  church  in  that  city.  It  was 
established  in  St.  Louis  in  1840,  and  a  day  school  for 
colored  children  was  opened  in  1841,  A  mission-house 
was  built,  and  Rev.  Charles  H.  A.  Dall  was  put  in 
charge.  In  1841  the  Mission  Free  School  was  founded, 
and  now  has  a  matron,  nursery,  kindergarten,  Sunday- 
school,  with  lectures  and  entertainments.  Dall  was 
succeeded  by  Mordecai  de  Lange,  Corlis  B.  Ward, 
Carlton  A.  Staples,  and  Thomas  L.  Ehot.  The  City 
Mission,  as  it  was  called,  grew  so  large  that  in  1860  no 
one  denomination  could  carry  it  on ;  and  it  became  the 
St.  Louis  Provident  Association,  which  has  done  an  ex- 
tensive and  important  work.* 

*  In  1830  the  British  and  Foreign  Unitarian  Association  began  to  con- 
sider the  value  of  this  ministry,  and  in  1832  the  first  mission  was  opened  in 
London.  In  1835  was  formed  the  London  Domestic  Mission  Society  for  the 
purpose  of  carrying  on  the  work  in  that  city.  In  1833  a  similar  movement 
was  made  in  Manchester,  and  in  1835  was  organized  the  Liverpool  Do- 
mestic Mission  Society,  The  visit  of  Dr.  Tuckerman  to  England  in  1834 
gave  large  interest  to  this  movement.  He  then  met  Mary  Carpenter,  and 
she  was  led  by  him  to  begin  her  great  work  of  charity.  It  was  duiing  the 
next  year  that  she  entered  upon  the  work  in  Bristol  that  made  her  name 
widely  known.  In  1847  there  were  two  ministers  at  large  in  London,  two 
in  Birmingham,  and  one  each  in  Liverpool,  Bristol,  Leeds,  Manchester, 
Halifax,  and  Leicester,  The  writings  of  Dr,  Tuckerman  were  translated 
into  French  by  the  Baron  de  Gerando,  a  leading  philanthropist  and  states- 
man of  that  day,  who  jiraised  them  highly,  and  introduced  their  methods 
into  Paris  and  elsewhere.  Of  Tuckerman's  book  on  the  ministry  at  large 
M,  de  Gerando  said  that  it  throws  ' '  invaluable  light  upon  the  condition 
and  wants  of  the  indigent  and  the  influence  which  an  enlightened  charity 
can  exert."  He  also  said  of  Tuckerman  that  "he  knew  the  difference  be- 
tween pauperism  and  poverty,"  thus  recognizing  one  of  those  cardinal  dis- 
tinctions made  by  the  philanthropist  in  his  efforts  to  aid  the  poor  to  self- 
help  and  independence. 


260  UNITAEIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

In  July,  1850,  was  formed  the  Association  of  Min- 
isters at  Large  in  New  England,  of  which  Rev.  Charles 
F.  Barnard  was  for  many  years  the  president,  and  Rev. 
Horatio  Wood,  of  Lowell,  the  secretary.  It  met  quar- 
terly, or  oftener,  essays  were  read  on  subjects  connected 
with  the  work  of  ministering  to  the  poor,  and  the  special 
phases  of  that  work  were  discussed.  In  the  spring  of 
1841  Rev.  Charles  F.  Barnard  began  the  publication  of 
the  Journal  of  the  Ministry  at  Large  as  a  sixteen-page 
octavo  monthly,  which  was  continued  until  1860,  part 
of  the  time  as  The  Record ;  but  during  the  later  years  it 
was  issued  irregularly. 

In  1838  Dr.  Tuckerman  published  The  Principles  and 
Results  of  the  Ministry  at  Large  in  Boston,  which  em- 
bodied an  account  of  his  work  for  twelve  years,  and  the 
conclusions  at  which  he  had  arrived.  It  did  much  to 
give  direction  and  purpose  to  the  ministry,  and  to  ex- 
tend its  influence.  It  can  be  read  with  interest  and 
profit  at  the  present  time ;  for  it  contains  all  the  prin- 
ciples since  put  into  practice  in  many  forms  of  charitable 
activity.  Dr.  Andrew  P.  Peabody  truly  said  of  Tuck- 
erman's  enterprise  in  behalf  of  the  poor  that  it  "  was  the 
earliest  organized  effort  in  that  direction.  Its  success 
and  its  permanent  establishment  as  an  institution  were 
due  to  its  founder's  strenuous  perseverance,  his  self- 
sacrifice,  his  apostolic  fervor  of  spirit,  and  the  power  of 
liis  influence."  *  Joseph  Story  spoke  of  the  ministry  at 
large  as  being  one  of  "  extraordinary  success."  "  I  deem 
it,"  he  wrote,  "  one  of  the  most  glorious  triumphs  of 
Christian  charity  over  the  cold  and  reluctant  doubts  of 
popular  opinion."  The  labors  of  Dr.  Tuckerman  "  initi- 
ated a  new  sphere  of  Protestant  charity,"  as  his  nephew 

*  Memorial  History  of  Boston,  III.  477. 


THE   MINISTRY   AT   LARGE  261 

well  said.*  "  This  has  been  the  most  characteristic,  the 
best  organized,  and  by  far  the  most  successful  co- 
operative work  that  the  Unitarian  body  has  ever  at- 
tempted by  way  of  church  action,"  was  the  testimony 
of  Dr.  Joseph  Heniy  Allen,  f 

*Sprague's  Annals  of  the  Unitarian  Pulpit,  345,  the  words  quoted  being 
from  the  pen  of  Henry  T.  Tuckerman,  the  well-known  essayist, 
t  Our  Liberal  Movement  in  Theology,  59. 


XL 

ORGANIZED   SUNDAY-SCHOOL   WORK. 

The  first  Sunday-schools  organized  in  this  country 
distinctly  for  purposes  of  religious  training  were  by  per- 
sons connected  with  Unitarian  churches.  Several 
schools  had  been  opened  previously,  but  they  were  not 
continued  or  were  organized  in  the  interests  of  secular 
instruction.  In  the  summer  of  1809  Miss  Hannah  Hill, 
then  twenty-five  years  of  age,  and  Miss  Joanna  B. 
Prince,  then  twenty,  both  teachers  of  private  schools  for 
small  children,  and  comiected  with  the  First  Parish  in 
Beverly,  Mass.,  of  which  Dr.  Abiel  Abbot  was  the  pas- 
tor, opened  a  school  in  one  room  of  a  dwelling-house  for 
the  religious  training  of  the  children  who  did  not  receive 
such  teaching  at  home.  In  the  spring  of  1810  the  same 
young  women  reopened  their  school  in  a  larger  room, 
using  the  Bible  as  their  only  book  of  instruction.  Ses- 
sions were  held  in  the  morning  before  church,  and  in  the 
afternoon  following  the  close  of  the  services.* 

The  first  season  about  thirty  children  attended,  but 
the  interest  grew;  and  in  1813  the  school  occupied  the 
Dane  Street  chapel,  and  became  a  union  or  town  school. 
Jealousies  resulted,  and  a  school  was  soon  estabhshed 
by  each  church  in  the  town.  In  1822  the  First  Parish 
received  the  original  school  under  its  sole  care,  and  it 
was  removed  to  the  meeting-house. 

A  Sunday-school  was  begun  in  Concord  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1810,  mider  the  leadership  of  Miss  Sarah  Ripley, 

*  Sunday  School  Times,  September  15,  1860. 


ORGANIZED   SUNDAY-SCHOOL   WORK  263 

daughter  of  Dr.  Ezra  Ripley,  the  'minister  of  the  town. 
On  Sunday  afternoons  she  taught  a  number  of  cliildren 
in  her  father's  house,  since  known  as  the  "  Old  Manse.'" 
About  five  years  later  a  school  was  opened  at  the  centre 
of  the  town,  near  the  church,  by  three  young  women. 
In  1818  a  Sunday-school  was  begun  in  connection  with 
the  church  itself,  which  absorbed  the  others,  or  of  which 
they  formed  the  nucleus.* 

A  teacher  of  a  charity  school  supported  by  the  West 
Church  in  Boston  was  the  first  person  to  open  a  Sunday- 
school  in  that  city.  In  October,  1812,  the  teacher  of 
this  school,  Miss  Lydia  K.  Adams,  then  a  member  of  the 
West  Parish,  according  to  the  statement  of  Dr.  Charles 
Lowell,  minister  of  the  church  at  the  time,  "havmg 
learned  on  a  visit  to  Beverly  that  some  young  ladies 
of  the  town  were  in  the  practice  of  giving  rehgious  in- 
struction to  poor  children  on  the  Sabbath,  consulted  her 
minister  as  to  the  expechency  of  giving  hke  instruction 
to  the  children  of  her  school,  and  to  those  who  had  been 
members  of  it,  on  the  same  day.  The  project  wfts  de- 
cidedly approved,  and  immediately  carried  into  effect." 
In  December  of  the  same  year.  Miss  Adams  was  com- 
pelled by  ill-health  to  leave  her  school ;  and  ladies  of  the 
West  Chiu-ch  took  charge  of  it,  and  in  turn  instructed 
the  children,  both  on  the  week-days  and  the  Sabbath, 
till  a  suitable  permanent  teacher  could  be  obtained.  On 
this  event  they  rehnquished  the  immediate  care  of  the 
week-day  school,  but  continued  the  instruction  of  the 
Sunday-school,  till  it  was  transferred  to  the  church,  and 
was  enlarged  by  the  addition  of  "  children  of  a  different 
description,"  in  1822.f 

*Asa  Bullard,  Fifty  Years  with  the  Sabbath  Schools,  37. 

t  C.  A.  Bartol,  The  West  Church  and  its  Ministers,  Appendix. 


264  UNITAEIANISM  IN   AMERICA 

Sunday-schools  were  also  begun  in  Cambridgeport,  in 
1814;  Wilton,  N.H.,  in  1816;  and  Portsmouth,  in  1818. 
The  latter  school  had  the  enthusiastic  support  of  Na- 
thaniel A.  Haven,  a  young  lawyer  and  rising  poUtician, 
who  devoted  himseK  vsdth  great  zeal  and  success  to  such 
instruction  of  the  young.* 

The  Association  of  Young  Men  for  Mutual  Improve- 
ment and  for  the  Religious  Instruction  of  the  Poor  be- 
gan the  work  of  forming  Sunday-schools  for  the  children 
of  the  poor  in  Boston  during  the  year  1823.  A  school 
was  begun  in  the  Hancock  School-house,  then  recently 
built  for  grammar-school  purposes. f  Soon  after  they 
opened  a  school  in  Merrimac  Street,  called  the  Howard 
Sunday-school,  in  connection  with  the  work  of  Dr. 
Tuckerman ;  and  in  1826  the  Frankhn  Sunday-school 
was  begun  by  the  same  persons  and  for  the  same  pur- 
poses. In  connection  with  these  schools  was  formed  the 
Sunday  School  Benevolent  Society,  composed  of  chari- 
table women,  who  provided  such  children  as  were  needy 
with  suitable  clothing. 

In  1825  a  parish  Sunday-school  was  organized  in  con- 
nection with  the  TweKth  Congregational  Church,  of 
which  Rev.  Samuel  Barrett  was  the  minister.  It  was 
reorganized  in  1827,  with  the  object  of  giving  "a  rehg- 
ious  education  apart  from  all  sectarian  views,  as  syste- 
matically as  it  is  given  to  the  same  children  in  other 
branches  of  learning."  :j:     In  July,  1828,  The  Christian 

*  See  the  Remains  of  Nathaniel  Appleton  Haven,  with  a  Memoir  of  his 
life,  by  George  Ticknor. 

t  The  Hancock  Sunday-school  assembled  at  eight  in  the  morning  and  at 
one  in  the  afternoon,  Moses  Grant  being  the  first  superintendent. 

t  At  the  school  of  the  Twelfth  Congregational  Society,  Carpenter's  Cate- 
chism was  used  for  the  sniall  children.  This  was  followed  by  the  Worces- 
ter Catechism,  compiled  in  1822  by  the  ministers  of  the  Worcester  Associa- 
tion of  Ministers,  Dr.  Joseph  Allen  being  the  real  author.    The  Geneva 


ORGANIZED   SUNDAY-SCHOOL   WORK  265 

Register  spoke  of  « the  rapid  and  extensive  establish- 
ment of  Sunday-schools  by  individuals  attached  to  Uni- 
tarian societies,"  and  said  that  in  the  course  of  two  or 
three  years  "  large  and  respectable  Sunday-schools  have 
been  established  by  Unitarians  in  various  parts  of  the 
city.  Several  of  these  are  parish  schools,  under  the  im- 
mediate guidance  of  the  pastors.  Others  are  more  gen- 
eral in  their  plan,  receiving  children  from  all  quarters." 

At  a  meeting  of  the  teachers  of  the  Franklin  Sunday- 
school  held   December  16,  1826,  it  was 
Boston  Sunday  i    .^     .    .r.        i,  •      i 

School  Society  Proposed  that  there  be  organized  an  asso- 
ciation of  all  the  teachers  connected  with 
Unitarian  parishes  in  Boston  and  the  vicinity.  On 
February  27,  1827,  a  meeting  was  held  in  the  Berry 
Street  vestry  for  tliis  purpose ;  and  on  April  18  a  con- 
stitution was  adopted  for  the  Boston  Sunday  School 
Society.  The  schools  joining  in  this  organization  were 
the  Hancock,  Franklin,  and  Howard,  and  those  con- 
nected with  the  West,  Federal  Street,  Hollis  Street,  and 
Twelfth  Congregational  Churches.  Dr.  Joseph  Tucker- 
man  was  elected  president;  Moses  Grant,  vice-presi- 
dent; Dr.  J.  F.  Flagg,  corresponding  secretary;  and 
Rev.  Frederick  T.  Gray,  recording  secretary.  The  first 
annual  meeting  was  held  November  28,  1827 ;  and  the 
above-named  officers  were  re-elected.  On  December  12 
a  public  meeting  was  held  in  the  Federal  Street  Church, 
which  was  well  filled.  Reports  of  the  work  of  the 
schools,  including  that  at  Cambridgeport,  were  read; 
and  addresses  were  made. 

The  objects  of  the  Sunday  School  Society  were  the 

Catechism,  in  its  three  successive  parts,  followed  in  order.  In  the  Bihle 
class,  use  was  made  of  Hannah  Adams's  Letters  on  the  Gospels,  under  the 
immediate  charge  of  the  pastor.  A  hymn-book  issued  by  the  Publishing 
Fund  Society  was  in  use  by  the  whole  school. 


266  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

helping  of  teachers,  the  extending  of  the  interests  of  the 
schools,  and  the  publishing  of  books.  It  was  difficult 
to  procure  suitable  books  for  use  in  Sunday-schools  and 
for  their  hbraries,  and  the  prices  were  very  high.  In 
the  autumn  of  1828  arrangements  were  made  for  the 
publishing  of  books,  the  American  Unitarian  Associa- 
tion co-operating  therein  by  providing  a  capital-  of  $300 
for  this  purpose,  the  profits  going  to  the  Sunday  School 
Society,  and  the  money  borrowed  being  returned  with- 
out interest.  This  connection  was  abandoned  in  1831 
because  it  was  found  that  the  Unitarian  name  on  the 
title-page  of  the  books  hindered  their  sale.  In  April, 
1828,  was  issued  the  first  number  of  the  Christian 
Teacher's  Manual,  a  small  monthly,  of  which  Mrs.  Ehza 
Lee  FoUen  was  the  editor,  intended  for  the  use  of 
families  and  Sunday-schools.  According  to  the  preface 
the  subjects  chiefly  considered  were  the  best  methods 
of  addressing  the  minds  of  children,  suggestions  to 
teachers,  explanations  of  Scripture,  rehgious  instruction 
from  natural  objects,  liistories  taken  from  real  life, 
stories  and  hymns  adapted  to  cliildren,  and  accounts  of 
Sunday-schools. 

The  Manual  was  continued  for  two  years ;  and  it  was 
followed  by  The  Scriptural  Interpreter,  edited  by  Rev. 
Ezra  S.  Gannett.  The  editor  of  the  Interpreter  pre- 
ferred to  publish  it  under  his  own  name,  because  he  did 
"  not  wish  it  to  be  considered  the  organ  or  the  repre- 
sentative of  a  denomination  of  Christians."  "  It  will 
have  one  object,"  he  said,  "  to  furnish  the  means  of  ac- 
quaintance with  the  true  sense  and  value  of  Scripture, 
and  particularly  of  the  New  Testament ;  but  whatever 
will  promote  this  object  will  come  within  the  scope  of 
the  pubhcation."     It  was  issued  bi-monthly,  and  was 


ORGANIZED   SUNDAY-SCHOOL   WOllK  267 

continued  for  five  years.  It  was  wholly  devoted  to  the 
exposition  of  the  Bible,  a  systematic  series  of  transla- 
tions and  interpretations  of  the  Gospels  forming  a  dis- 
tinct feature  of  its  pages.  A  considerable  part  of  it 
was  prepared  by  the  editor,  who  drew  freely  upon  ex- 
pository works.  Among  the  contributors  were  William 
H.  Furness,  Orville  Dewey,  Alexander  Young,  Edward 
B.  Hall,  James  Walker,  Henry  Ware,  Jr.,  and  J.  P. 
Dabney.  In  1836,  Dr.  Gannett's  health  having  failed, 
the  magazine  was  edited  by  Theodore  Parker,  George 
E.  Ellis,  and  WilHam  Silsbee,  then  students  in  the 
Harvard  Divinity  School. 

One  important  feature  of  the  work  of  the  Sunday 
School  Society  was  the  extension  of  the  cause  it  repre- 
sented. In  December,  1829,  reports  were  presented  at 
the  annual  meeting  from  nearly  fifty  schools ;  and  it  was 
thought  desirable  that  they  should  be  brought  into 
closer  relations  with  the  society.  Accordingly,  Fred- 
erick T.  Gray,  the  secretary,  visited  many  of  these 
schools.  The  next  year,  as  a  result,  a  considerable 
number  of  those  outside  the  city  connected  themselves 
with  the  society ;  and  the  Hsts  of  vice-presidents  and 
directors  were  enlarged  to  include  them  in  its  opera- 
tions. Afterwards  this  work  was  carried  on  by  a  com- 
mittee of  the  society,  the  members  of  which  visited  the 
schools,  giving  addresses,  and  in  other  ways  helping  to 
give  strength  and  purpose  to  the  work  in  which  they 
were  engaged.  Schools  were  visited  in  Maine,  New 
Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  New  York, 
Pennsylvania,  Kentucky,  and  other  states.  To  give 
better  opportunity  for  the  attendance  of  delegates  from 
schools  outside  the  city,  the  yearly  meeting  was  changed 
from  December  to  anniversary  week  in  May. 


268  UNITAEIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

The  society  published  a  considerable  number  of  tracts, 
which  were  distributed  gratuitously  by  the  agents  and 
in  other  ways.  It  also  issued  lesson-books,  as  well  as 
books  for  the  juvenile  libraries  which  were  forming  at 
this  time  in  all  the  churches.  To  meet  this  demand,  the 
younger  Henry  Ware  began  editing,  in  1833,  the 
Sunday-school  Library  for  Young  Persons,  in  which 
were  included  his  own  Life  of  the  Saviour,  Mrs.  John 
Farrar's  Life  of  Howard,  Rev.  Stephen  G.  Bulfinch's 
Holy  Land,  and  Rev.  Thomas  B.  Fox's  Sketch  of  the 
Reformation.  The  next  year  Mr.  Ware  began  a  series 
of  books  which  he  called  Scenes  and  Characters  illus- 
trating Christian  Truth.  Another  method  used  by  the 
society  was  the  giving  of  expository  lectures. 

The  society  at  first  held  quarterly  meetings ;  but  the 
interest  grew,  and  the  meetings  became  monthly.  Great 
enthusiasm  was  felt  at  this  time  in  regard  to  the  work 
of  these  schools,  and  many  persons  of  prominence 
praised  them  and  took  part  in  their  management.  "  The 
institution  of  Sunday-schools  constitutes  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  features  of  the  present  age,"  wrote  Dr.  Jo- 
seph Allen,  in  1830.  "It  has  already  done  much  to 
supply  the  deficiencies  of  domestic  education,  and,  if 
wisely  conducted,  is  destined,  we  trust,  to  become  at  no 
distant  day  one  of  the  most  efficient  instruments  in 
forming  the  characters  of  the  young."  *  Writing  in 
1838,  the  younger  Henry  Ware  said  that  "  the  Sunday- 
school  has  become  one  of  the  established  institutions  of 
religion  in  connection  with  the  church,  and  the  char- 
acter of  religion  is  henceforth  to  depend,  in  no  small  de- 
gree, on  the  wisdom  with  which  it  shall  be  admin- 
istered." I 

*  Christian  Examiner,  March,  1830,  VIII.  49. 
t  Ibid.,  May,  1838,  XXIV.  182. 


ORGANIZED   SUNDAY-SCHOOL   WORK  269 

In  1834  was  organized  the  Worcester  Sunday  School 
Society.  It  had  its  origin  as  far  back  as  November  17, 
1817,  when  a  committee  of  the  Worcester  Association  of 
Ministers  was  appointed  to  report  on  the  subject  of 
Sunday-schools.  A  meeting  was  held  in  Lancaster, 
October  9,  1834,  when  an  organization  was  perfected. 
The  succeeding  meetings  were  largely  attended,  and 
much  interest  was  awakened.*  In  1842  a  similar  so- 
ciety was  organized  in  Middlesex  County ;  and  at  about 
the  same  time  one  came  into  existence  in  Cheshire 
County,  New  Hampshire.  Soon  after  societies  were  or- 
ganized in  the  counties  of  Norfolk,  Plymouth  (North), 
Middlesex  (West),  Worcester,  and  in  Portland  and  its 
neighborhood. 

In  April,  1831,  the  directors  of  the  Boston  Sunday 
School  Society  discussed  the  feasibility  of  starting  a 
weekly  paper  for  the  use  of  the  schools.  In  July,  1836, 
Rev.  Bernard  Whitman  began  the  publication  of  The 
Sunday  School  Teacher  and  Children's  Friend.  In 
January,  1837,  The  Yoimg  Christian  was  begun,  and 
was  pubhshed  weekly  at  the  office  of  The  Christian 
Register,  by  David  Reed.  These  papers  were  continued 
only  for  a  few  years.  From  1845  to  1857  Mrs.  Eliza 
Lee  Follen  edited  a  monthly  magazine  for  children, 
called  The  Children's  Friend.  The  first  number  of  the 
Sunday  School  Gazette  was  published  in  Worcester, 
August  7,  1849,  under  the  direction  of  the  Worcester 
Sunday  School  Society.  It  was  established  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  Rev.  Edward  Everett  Hale,  then  a  minister 
in  that  city,  in  connection  with  Rev.  Edmiuid  B.  Will- 
son,  then  settled  in  Grafton.  The  editor  was  Rev. 
Francis  Le  Baron,  the  minister  at  large  in   Worcester, 

•  Joseph  Allen,  History  of  the  Worcester  Association,  261-264. 


270  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

though  Mr.  Hale  was  a  frequent  contributor.     When 

the  National  Sunday  School  Society  was  organized,  the 

Sunday  School  Gazette  was  transferred  to  its  charge ; 

but   the  pubhcation   of   this   paper   was    continued  in 

Worcester  until  I860.* 

As  time  went  on,  and  the  work  of  the  Sunday-schools 

enlarged,  it  was  felt  that  it  was  necessary' 

Unitarian  there  should  be  one  sfeneral  organization, 

Sunday  School       ,  .  ,      ,       t,  ,    •  ,  .,  xt    •       • 

Society.  wmch  should  bring  together  all  Unitarian 

schools  into  a  compact  worldng  force.  To 
meet  this  growing  need,  a  convention  of  the  county  so- 
cieties and  of  local  schools  was  held  in  Worcester,  Oc- 
tober 4,  1854,  at  which  time  the  Sunday  School  Society 
was  organized  as  a  general  denominational  body.     Hon. 

*  In  1852  was  published  a  graded  series  of  eight  manuals  of  Christian  in- 
struction for  Sunday-schools  and  families, —  a  result  of  the  activities  of  the 
Sunday  School  Society.  The  titles  and  authors  of  these  books  were  Eariy 
Religious  Lessons ;  Palestine  and  the  Hebrew  People,  Stephen  G.  Bul- 
finch  ;  Lessons  on  the  Old  Testament,  Rev.  Ephraira  Peabody ;  The  Life 
of  Christ,  Rev.  John  H.  Morison;  The  Books  and  Characters  of  the  New 
Testament,  Rev.  Rufus  Ellis  ;  Lessons  upon  Religious  Duties  and  Christian 
Morals,  Rev.  George  W.  Briggs  ;  Doctrines  of  Scripture,  Rev.  Frederic  D. 
Huntington;  Scenes  from  Christian  History,  Rev.  Edward  E.  Hale.  Two 
other  books  connected  with  the  early  history  of  Unitarian  Sunday-schools 
properly  demand  notice  here.  In  1847  was  published  The  History  of  Sun- 
day Schools  and  of  Religious  Education  from  the  Earliest  Times,  by 
Lewis  G.  Pray,  who  was  treasurer  of  the  Boston  Sunday  School  Society 
from  1834  to  1853,  and  chairman  of  its  board  of  agents  from  1841  to  1848. 
He  was  one  of  the  first  workers  in  the  establishing  of  Sunday-schools  in 
Boston,  and  he  zealously  interested  himself  in  this  cause  so  long  as  he  lived. 
He  compiled  the  first  book  of  hymns  used  in  Unitarian  schools,  and  also  the 
first  book  of  devotional  exercises.  For  twenty  years  he  was  superintendent 
of  the  school  connected  with  the  Twelfth  Congregational  Society,  holding 
that  place  from  its  organization  in  1827.  In  one  of  the  concluding  chapters 
of  his  book  Mr.  Pray  gave  an  account  of  the  early  history  of  Unitarian  Sun- 
day-schools in  Boston  and  its  neighborhood.  In  1852  was  published  a  series 
of  addresses  which  had  been  given  by  Rev.  Frederick  T.  Gray  at  Sunday- 
school  anniversaries  and  on  other  similar  occasions.  The  volume  contains 
most  interesting  information  in  regard  to  the  origin  of  Sunday-schools  in 
Boston,  and  the  beginnings  of  the  Sunday  School  Society,  as  well  as  the 
work  of  Dr.  Tuckerman  and  his  assistants  in  the  ministry  at  large. 


ORGANIZED    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    WORK  271 

Albert  Fearing,  of  Boston,  was  made  the  president,  and 
Rev.  Frederick  T.  Gray  the  secretary.  The  society 
provided  itself  with  a  desk  in  the  rooms  of  the  Unita- 
rian Association,  and  provision  was  made  for  the  collec- 
tion and  sale  of  all  the  helps  demanded  by  the  schools. 

From  1855  until  18G5  the  society  was  sadly  crippled 
by  the  lack  of  funds.  The  hard  times  preceding  the  Ci"\dl 
War,  and  the  absorption  of  pubHc  interest  in  that  great 
national  event,  made  it  difficult  for  the  society  to  con- 
tinue its  work  with  any  degree  of  success.  For  some 
years  Httle  was  done  but  to  hold  the  annual  meeting  in 
the  autumn  and  that  in  anniversaiy  week,  and  to  con- 
tinue the  pubhcation  of  the  Sunday  School  Gazette. 
For  a  number  of  yeai^s,  however.  Teachers'  Institutes 
were  held ;  and  these  were  continued  at  irregular  inter- 
vals until  about  1875.  The  Sunday  School  Teachers' 
Institute  was  organized  in  1852,  and  continued  in  exist- 
ence for  ten  years. 

After  the  death  of  Rev.  Frederick  T.  Gray  in  1855, 
he  was  succeeded  in  the  position  of  secretary  of  the 
Sunday  School  Society  by  Rev.  Stephen  G.  Bulfinch. 
In  1856  Rev.  Warren  H.  Cudworth  became  the  secre- 
tary, and  the  editor  of  the  Gazette ;  and  he  held  these 
positions  until  May,  1861,  when  he  became  the  chaplain 
of  the  first  Massachusetts  regiment  taking  part  in  the 
Civil  War.  In  the  October  foUomng,  Mr.  Joseph  H. 
Allen,  a  Boston  merchant,  afterwards  the  editor  of  The 
Schoolmate,  became  the  secretary  and  editor.  He  con- 
tinued to  edit  the  Gazette  until  November,  1865 ;  but 
Mr.  M.  T.  Rice  was  made  secretary  in  1863.  At  the 
end  of  1865,  when  the  society  was  in  a  condition  of 
almost  complete  collapse.  Rev.  Thomas  J.  Mumford  be- 
came the  secretary,  and  the  editor  of  the   Gazette  for 


272  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

one  year.  He  restored  confidence  in  the  society,  and 
made  the  paper  a  success.  During  the  war  the  paper 
was  pubUshed  monthly  for  the  sake  of  economy;  but 
with  the  first  of  January,  1866,  it  was  restored  to  its 
former  semi-monthly  issue. 

The  new  hfe  that  came  to  the  denomination  in  1865 
had  its  influence  upon  the  Sunday  School  Society.  In 
the  autumn  of  1866,  when  the  Unitarian  Association 
had  secured  a  large  increase  of  funds,  it  was  proposed 
that  the  Sunday  School  Society  should  unite  with  it, 
and  that  the  larger  organization  should  have  the  direc- 
tion of  all  denominational  activities,  especially  those  of 
publishing.  The  more  zealous  friends  of  the  society 
did  not  approve  of  such  consolidation,  and  succeeded  in 
reanimating  its  work  by  appointing  as  its  secretary  Mr. 
James  P.  Walker,  who  had  been  the  head  of  the  pub- 
lishing firm  of  Walker,  Wise  &  Co.,  a  young  man  of 
earnest  purpose,  a  successful  Sunday-school  teacher  and 
superintendent,  and  an  enthusiastic  believer  in  the  mis- 
sion of  Unitarianism.  Mr.  Walker  devoted  his  whole 
time  to  the  interests  of  the  society,  and  an  energetic 
effort  was  made  to  revive  and  extend  its  work.  He 
proved  to  be  the  man  for  the  position,  largely  increas- 
ing the  bookselling  and  publishmg  activities,  visiting 
schools  and  conferences,  and  awakening  much  enthusi- 
asm in  regard  to  the  interests  of  Sunday-schools.  He 
wore  himself  out  in  this  work,  however,  and  died  in 
March,  1868,  greatly  lamented  throughout  the  denomi- 
nation.* 

After  the  death  of  Mr.  Walker,  consolidation  with  the 
Association  was  again  urged ;  but  Rev.  Leonard  J.  Liv- 
ermore  was  in  June    elected   the    secretary.      At  the 

*  Memoir  of  James  P.  Walker,  with  Selections  from  his  Writings,  by 
Thomas  B.  Fox.     American  Unitarian  Association,  1869. 


ORGANIZED   SUNDAY-SCHOOL   WORK  273 

annual  meeting  it  was  resolved  to  raise  $5,000  for  the 
work  of  the  society,  and  the  next  year  it  was  proposed 
to  make  the  annual  contribution  $10,000.  The  name 
was  changed  to  the  Unitarian  Sunday  School  Society  at 
the  amiual  meeting  of  1868,  held  m  Worcester.  In 
1871  Mr.  John  Kneeland  became  the  secretary;  and 
with  the  beginning  of  1872  the  Gazette  was  changed  to 
The  Dayspring,  which  was  issued  monthly.  In  the 
autumn  of  that  year  the  society  began  the  publication 
of  monthly  lessons,  and  there  was  issued  with  them  a 
Teachers'  Guide  for  the  lessons  of  the  year.  With  the 
beginning  of  1877  the  Guide  was  discontinued,  and  the 
lesson  papers  enlarged.  In  November,  1875,  Rev. 
George  F.  Piper  became  the  secretary,  —  a  position  he 
held  until  May  1,  1883.  During  his  administration 
about  three  hundi-ed  lessons  were  prepared  by  liim,  and 
these  had  a  circulation  of  about  nine  thousand  copies. 
The  transition  condition  of  the  denomination  made  it 
difficult  to  carry  on  the  work  of  the  society  at  this 
time,  for  it  was  impossible  to  please  both  conservatives 
and  radicals  with  any  lessons  that  might  be  prepared. 
One  superintendent  warned  his  school  against  the  heret- 
ical tendencies  of  lessons  which,  from  the  other  point 
of  view,  a  minister  condemned  as  being  fit  for  orthodox 
schools,  but  not  for  Unitarians.  In  the  same  mail  came 
a  letter  from  a  minister  saying  the  lessons  were  too 
elementary,  and  from  another  saying  they  were  much 
too  advanced.  In  the  latter  part  of  Mr.  Piper's  term 
of  service  was  begun  an  important  work  of  prepar- 
ing manuals  thoroughly  modern  in  their  spirit  and 
methods.* 

*  The  first  of  these  was  Rev.  Edward  H.  Hall's  First  Lessons  on  the 
Bible,  which  appeared  in  1882  ;  and  it  was  soon  followed  by  Professor  C.  H. 
Toy's  History  of  the  Religion  of  Israel. 


274  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

In  May,  1883,  Rev.  Henry  G.  Spaulding  became  the 
secretary ;  and  the  work  of  publishing  modern  manuals 
was  largely  extended.*  At  the  suggestion  and  with 
the  co-operation  of  the  secretary  there  was  organized, 
November  12,  1883,  the  Unitarian  Sunday  School 
Union  of  Boston,  having  for  its  object  "to  develop 
the  best  methods  of  Sunday-school  work."  At  about 
the  same  time  a  lending  library  of  reference  books 
was  established  in  coimection  with  the  work  of  the 
society.  In  the  autumn  of  1883  the  society  began  to 
hold  in  Channing  Hall  weekly  lectures  for  teachers. 
In  1885  The  Dayspring  was  enlarged  and  became 
Every  Other  Sunday,  being  much  improved  in  its 
literary  contents  as  well  as  in  its  illustrations.  The 
same  year  the  society  was  incorporated,  and  the  num- 
ber of  directors  was  increased  to  include  representa- 
tives from  all  sections  of  the  comitry;  while  all 
Sunday-schools  contributing  to  the  society's  treasury- 
were  given  a   delegate  representation  in   its  member- 

*  Among  these  were  Religions  before  Christianity,  by  Professor  Charles 
Carroll  Everett,  D.D.,  1883  ;  Manual  of  Unitarian  Belief,  by  Rev.  James 
Freeman  Clarke,  D.D.,  1S84  ;  Lessons  on  the  Life  of  St.  Paul,  by  Rev. 
Edward  H.  Hall,  1883  ;  Early  Hebrew  Stoi-ies,  by  Rev.  Charles  F.  Dole, 
1886 ;  Hebrew  Prophets  and  Kings,  by  Rev.  Henry  G.  Spaulding,  1887 ; 
The  Later  Heroes  of  Israel,  by  Mr.  Spaulding,  1888  ;  Lessons  on  the 
Gospel  of  Luke,  by  Mr.  Spaulding  and  Rev.  W.  W.  Fenn,  1SS9  ;  A  Story 
of  the  Sects,  by  Rev.  William  H.  Lyon,  in  1891.  In  1890  appeared  the 
Unitarian  Catechism  of  Rev.  Minot  J.  Savage,  though  not  published  by 
the  Sunday  School  Society.  These  books  attracted  wide  attention,  were 
largely  used  in  Unitarian  schools,  and  were  adopted  into  those  of  other 
sects  to  some  extent.  In  1886  the  president  of  the  American  Social  Sci- 
ence Association  publicly  urged  the  use  of  the  ethical  manuals  of  the  soci- 
ety by  all  Sunday-schools.  Several  of  these  books  were  republished  in 
London,  and  Dr.  Toy's  manual  was  translated  into  Dutch.  The  society 
also  published  a  new  Service  Book  and  Hymnal,  which  went  into  imme- 
diate use  in  a  large  number  of  schools,  and  did  much  for  the  enrichment  of 
the  devotional  exercises  and  the  promotion  of  an  advanced  standard  of 
both  words  and  nmsic  in  the  hymns. 


ORGANIZED   SUNDAY-SCHOOL   WORK  275 

ship.     Mr.   Spaulding   continued   his   connection   with 
the  society  until  January  1,  1892. 

Rev.  Edward  A.  Horton,  who  had  for  several  years 
taken  an  active  part  in  the  work  of  the  society,  assumed 
charge  February  1,  1892.  Mr.  Horton  was  made  the 
president,  it  being  deemed  wise  to  have  the  head  of  the 
society  its  executive  officer.  During  his  administration 
there  has  been  a  steady  growth  in  Sunday-school  inter- 
est, wliich  has  demanded  a  rapid  increase  in  the  number 
and  variety  of  pubhcations.  The  book  department  has 
been  taxed  to  the  utmost  to  meet  the  demand.  A  new 
book  of  Song  and  Service,  compiled  by  Mr.  Horton,  has 
reached  a  sale  of  nearly  25,000  copies.  A  simple 
statement  of  "  Our  Faith "  has  had  a  circulation  of 
40,000  copies,  and  in  a  form  suitable  for  the  walls 
of  Sunday-school  rooms  it  has  been  in  considerable  de- 
mand.* A  series  of  lessons,  covering  a  period  of  seven 
years,  upon  the  three-grade,  one-topic  plan,  has  been 
largely  used  in  the  schools.  Besides  the  twenty  manuals 
pubhshed  in  this  course  of  lessons,  forty  other  text- 
books have  been  published,  making  a  total  of  sixty  in 
all,  from  1892  to  1902.f     There  have  also  been  many 

*The  Fatherhood  of  God,  the  Brotherhood  of  Man,  the  leadership  of 
Jesus,  salvation  by  character,  the  progress  of  mankind  onward  and  upward 
forever. 

t  Among  the  publications  under  Mr.  Horton's  administration,  which  may 
justly  be  called  significant,  are :  Beacon  Lights  of  Christian  History,  in 
three  grades  ;  Noble  Lives  and  Noble  Deeds,  Dole's  Catechism  of  Liberal 
Faith,  Mott's  History  of  Unitariauism,  Pulsford's  vai-ions  manuals  on  the 
Bible,  Mrs.  Jaynes's  Illustrated  Primary  Leaflets,  Miss  MuUikon's  Kinder- 
garten Lessons,  Story  of  Israel  and  Great  Thoughts  of  Israel,  in  three 
grades,  Fonn's  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  Chadwiek's  Questions  on  the  Old 
Testament  Books  in  their  Right  Order,  Mrs.  Kate  Gannett  Wells's  forty 
Illustrated  Primary  Lessons,  and  Walkley's  Helps  for  Teachers.  Mr. 
Horton,  duiing  this  ten  years,  has  written  fourteen  manuals  on  various 
subjects.  Co-extensive  with  the  large  increase  of  text-books  has  been  the 
enrichment  of  lessons  by  pictorial  aids.  Excellent  half-tone  pictures  have 
been  prepared  from  the  best  subjects. 


276  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

additions  to  Sunday-school  helps  by  way  of  special  ser- 
vices for  festival  days,  free  tracts,  and  statements  of 
belief.  The  Charming  Hall  talks  to  Smiday-school 
teachers  have  been  made  to  bear  upon  these  courses 
of  lessons.  Every  Other  Sunday  has  been  improved, 
and  its  circulation  extended.  The  number  of  do- 
nating churches  and  schools  has  been  steadily  in- 
creased, the  number  in  1901  being  255,  the  largest 
by  far  yet  reached.  At  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
society  and  at  local  conferences  representative  speakers 
have  presented  the  newest  methods  of  Sunday-school 
work.  Sunday-school  unions  have  been  formed  in 
various  parts  of  the  country,  and  churches  are  awak- 
ened to  a  new  interest  in  the  work  of  rehgious  instruc- 
tion. "  Home  and  School  Conferences  "  have  been  held 
with  a  view  to  bringing  parents  and  teachers  into  closer 
sympathy  and  co-operation. 

In  the  west  the  first  movement  towards  Sunday-school 

activities  began  in  1871  with  the  publica- 
Western  Unita-  ^^^j^  ^f  g^  four-page  lesson-sheet  at  Janes- 
School  S°odJty.  ^ill^'  Wi^-'  ^J  ^e^-  Jenkin  Lloyd  Jones. 

This  was  continued  for  two  or  three  years. 
Through  the  interest  of  Mr.  Jones  in  Smiday-school 
work  a  meeting  for  organization  was  called  in  the  fourth 
chm'ch,  Chicago,  October  14,  1873,  when  the  Western 
Unitarian  Sunday  School  Society  was  organized,  with 
Rev.  Milton  J.  Miller  as  president  and  Mr.  Jones  as 
secretary.  At  the  meeting  the  next  year  in  St.  Louis  a 
committee  was  appointed  to  prepare  a  song-book  for  the 
schools,  which  resulted  in  the  production  of  The  Sunny 
Side,  edited  by  Rev.  Charles  W.  Wendte.  The  next 
step  was  to  establish  headquarters  in  Chicago,  where  all 
kinds  of  material  could  be  furnished  to  the  schools,  with 


ORGANIZED   SUNDAY-SCHOOL   AVORK  277 

the  necessary  advice  and  encouragement.  Through 
successive  years  the  effort  of  the  society  was  to  systema- 
tize the  work  of  Unitarian  Sunday-schools,  to  put  into 
them  the  best  literature,  the  best  song  and  service  books, 
the  best  lesson  papers,  and  other  tools, —  in  short,  to 
secure  better  and  more  definite  teaching,  such  as  is  in 
accord  with  the  best  scholarship  and  thought  of  the 
age.* 

In  1882  the  society  became  incorporated,  and  its 
work  from  this  time  enlarged  in  all  directions.  To 
develop  these  results  more  fully,  an  Institute  was  held 
in  the  Third  Chui-ch,  Chicago,  in  November,  1887,  at 
which  five  sessions  were  given  to  Sunday-school  work, 
and  two  to  Unity  Club  interests.  In  the  course  of 
several  years  of  encouraging  success,  the  Institute 
developed  into  a  Summer  Assembly  of  two  or  more 
weeks'  continuance  at  Hillside,  Helena  Valley,  Wis., 
which  still  continues  its  yearly  sessions.  In  May,  1902, 
The  Western  Sunday  School  Society  was  consolidated 
with  the  national  organization ;  and  the  plates  and  stock 
which  it  possessed  were  handed  over  to  the  Unitarian 
Sunday   School    Society.     A  western   headquarters  is 

*  Among  the  publications  of  the  Western  Unitarian  Sunday  School 
Society  have  been  Unity  Services  and  Songs,  edited  by  Rev.  James  Vila 
Blake,  and  published  in  l>i7.S  ;  a  service  book  called  The  Way  of  Life,  by 
Rev.  Frederick  L.  Hosmer,  issued  in  1877 ;  and  Unity  Festivals,  services 
for  special  holidays,  1884.  Of  the  lesson-books  published  by  the  society, 
those  that  have  been  most  successful  have  been  Corner-stones  of  Character, 
by  Mrs.  Kate  Gannett  Wells  ;  A  Chosen  Nation,  or  the  Growth  of  the  He- 
brew Religion,  by  Rev.  William  C.  Gannett ;  and  Tlie  More  Wonderful 
Genesis,  by  Rev.  Henry  M.  Simmons.  In  1890  the  society  entered  upon 
the  publication  of  a  six-year  course  of  studies,  which  included  Beginnings 
according  to  Legend  and  according  to  the  Truer  Story,  by  Rev.  Allen  W. 
Gould  ;  The  Flowering  of  the  Hebrew  Religion,  by  Rev.  W.  W.  Fenn;  In 
the  Home,  by  Rev.  W.  C.  Gannett;  Mother  Nature's  Children,  by  Rev. 
A.  W.  Gould  ;  and  The  Flowering  of  Christianity,  the  Liberal  Christian 
Movement  toward  Universal  Religion,  by  Rev.  W.  C.  Gannett. 


278  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

maintained  in  Chicago,  where  all  the  publications  of 
the  two  societies  are  kept  on  sale. 

As  adjuncts  to  the  Sunday-school,  and  to  continue  its 
work   for   adults    and   in   other   spheres  of 
°*  ^  '  etliical  training,  the   Unity  Club  came  into 

existence  about  the  year  1873,  beginning  with  the  work 
of  Rev.  Jenkin  LI.  Jones  at  Janesville.  In  the  course  of 
the  next  ten  years  nearly  every  Unitarian  church  in  the 
west  organized  such  a  club,  and  the  movement  to  some 
degree  extended  to  other  parts  of  the  country.  In  1887 
there  was  organized  in  Boston  the  National  Bureau  of 
Unity  Clubs.  These  clubs  devoted  themselves  to  liter- 
ary, sociological,  and  religious  courses  of  study ;  and 
they  furnished  centres  for  the  social  activities  of  the 
churches.  About  the  year  1878  began  a  movement  to 
organize  societies  of  young  people  for  the  cultivation  of 
the  spirit  of  worship  and  religious  development.  This 
resulted  in  1889  in  the  organization  of  the  National  Guild 
Alliance;  and  in  1890  this  organization  joined  with  the 
Bureau  of  Unity  Clubs  and  the  Unitarian  Temperance 
Society  in  supporting  an  agency  in  the  Unitarian  Build- 
ing, Boston,  with  the  aid  of  the  Unitarian  Association. 
The  Young  People's  Religious  Union  was  organized  in 
Boston,  May  28,  1896 ;  and  in  large  degree  it  took  the 
place  of  the  Bureau  and  the  AlHance,  uniting  the  two 
in  a  more  efficient  effort  to  interest  the  young  people  of 
the  churches.* 

*  The  objects  of  The  Young  People's  Religious  Union  are  :  (a)  to  foster 
the  religious  life  ;  (6)  to  biing  the  young  into  closer  relations  with  one  an- 
other ;  and  (c)  to  spread  rational  views  of  religion,  and  to  put  into  practice 
such  principles  of  life  and  duty  as  tend  to  uplift  mankind.  The  cardinal 
principles  of  the  Union  are  truth,  worship,  and  service.  Any  young 
people's  society  may  become  a  member  of  the  Union  by  affirming  in  writ- 
ing its  sympatliy  with  the  general  objects  of  the  Union,  adopting  its  cardinal 
principles,  making  a  contribution  to  its  treasury,  and  sending  the  secretary 


ORGANIZED   SUNDAY-SCHOOL   WORK  279 

In  the  autumn  of  1865,  Rev.  Charles  Lowe,  then  the 

secretary  of  the  Unitarian  Association, 

The  Ladies'  Commis-  invited  a  number  of  women  to  meet 

sion  on  Sunday-  i  •      j.       ,  i  <•  t- 

school  Books.  ^^  ^or  the  purpose  of  conference  on 

the  subject  of  Sunday-school  libraries. 
At  his  suggestion  they  organized  themselves  on  Octo- 
ber 12  as  The  Ladies'  Commission  on  Sunday-school 
Books,  with  the  object  of  preparing  a  catalogue  of 
books  read  and  approved  by  competent  persons.  At 
the  first  meeting  ten  persons  were  present,  but  the  num- 
ber was  soon  enlarged  to  thirty ;  and  it  was  still  farther 
increased  by  the  addition  of  corresponding  members  in 
cities  too  remote  for  personal  attendance.  Among  those 
taking  part  in  the  work  of  the  commission  at  first  were 
Miss  Lucretia  P.  Hale,  Miss  Anna  C.  Lowell,  Mrs. 
Edwin  P.  Whipple,  Mrs.  Ednah  D.  Cheney,  Mrs. 
A.  D.  T.  Whitney,  Mrs.  S.  Bennett,  Mrs.  Carohne 
H.  DaU,  Mrs.  E.  E.  Hale,  Mrs.  E.  P.  Tileston,  and 
Miss  Hannah  E.  Stevenson. 

The  commission  not  only  aimed  to  select  books  for 
Sunday-school  Ubraries,  but  also  those  for  the  home 
reading  of  young  persons  and  for  the  use  of  teachers. 
It  undertook  also  the  procuring  of  the  publication  of 
suitable  juvenile  books.     The  first  catalogue  was  issued 

a  list  of  its  officers.  The  annual  meeting  is  held  in  May  at  such  day  and 
place  as  the  executive  board  may  appoint.  Special  union  meetings  are  held 
as  often  as  several  societies  may  arrange.  The  Union  has  its  headquarters 
at  Room  11,  in  the  Unitarian  Building,  Boston,  in  charge  of  the  secretary, 
whose  office  hours  are  from  9  a.m.  to  1  p.m.  daily.  Organization  hints, 
hymnals,  leaflets,  helps  for  the  national  toj)ics,  and  other  suggestive 
materials  are  supplied.  The  national  officers  furnish  speakers  for  initial 
meetings,  visit  unions,  and  help  in  other  ways.  The  Union  maintains  a 
department  in  The  Christian  Register,  under  the  charge  of  the  secretary,  for 
notes,  notices,  helps  on  the  topics,  and  all  matters  of  interest  to  the  unions, 
and  also  publishes  a  monthly  bulletin  in  connection  with  the  National 
Alliance  of  Unitarian  Women. 


280  UNITARIANISM    IN   AMERICA 

in  October,  1866,  and  contained  a  list  of  two  hundred 
books,  selected  from  twelve  hundred  examined.  In  the 
spring  of  1867  a  catalogue  of  five  hundred  and  seventy- 
three  books  was  printed,  as  the  result  of  the  reading  of 
nineteen  hundred  volumes. 

In  the  beginning  of  its  work  the  commission  did  not 
confine  its  activities  to  the  selecting  of  juvenile  books ; 
for  the  Sunday  School  Hymn  and  Tune  Book,  pub- 
lished in  1869,  was  largely  due  to  its  efforts.  Under 
the  administration  of  Mr.  James  P.  Walker  the  Sunday 
School  Society  undertook  to  procure  the  publication  of 
a  number  of  books  of  fiction  suitable  for  Sunday-school 
libraries,  and  offered  prizes  to  this  end.  The  commis- 
sion gave  its  encouragement  to  this  effort,  read  the 
manuscripts,  and  aided  in  determining  to  whom  the 
prizes  should  be  given.  The  result  was  the  publication 
of  a  half-dozen  volumes  by  the  Sunday  School  Society 
and  the  Unitarian  Association.  The  society  also  aided 
to  some  extent  in  meeting  the  expenses  of  the  commis- 
sion, though  these  were  usually  met  by  the  Association. 

For  many  years  the  books  approved  by  the  commis- 
sion were  grouped  under  three  heads :  books  especially 
recommended  for  Unitarian  Sunday-school  libraries; 
those  highly  recommended  for  their  religious  tone,  but 
somewhat  impaired  for  this  purpose  by  the  use  of 
phrases  and  the  adoption  of  a  spirit  not  in  accord  with 
the  Unitarian  faith ;  and  those  profitable  and  valuable, 
but  not  adapted  to  the  pui'poses  of  a  Sunday-school 
library.  Every  book  recommended  was  read  and  ap- 
proved by  at  least  five  persons,  discussed  in  committee 
of  the  whole,  and  accepted  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  all 
the  members.  Books  about  which  there  was  much  di- 
versity of  opinion  were   read  by  a  larger  number  of 


ORGANIZED   SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK  281 

persons.  This  classification  proved  rather  cumbersome, 
and  it  was  often  found  difficult  to  decide  into  which  list 
a  book  should  be  placed ;  and  the  result  was  that  about 
1890  the  simpler  plan  was  adopted  of  putting  all  titles 
in  their  alphabetical  order,  with  explanatory  notes  for 
each  book.  In  1882  the  hst  of  books  for  teachers  was 
discontinued  as  being  no  longer  necessary. 

Annual  lists  of  books  have  been  published  by  the 
commission  since  1866 ;  and,  in  addition,  several  catar 
logues  have  been  issued,  containing  all  the  books  ap- 
proved dming  a  period  of  five  years.  In  the  early  days 
of  the  commission,  supplementary  lists  for  children  and 
young  persons  were  issued,  containing  books  of  a  more 
secular  character  than  were  thought  suitable  for  Sun- 
day-school libraries.  Gradually,  it  has  extended  its 
work  to  include  the  needs  of  all  juvenile  libraries ;  and 
these  books  are  now  incorporated  into  the  one  annual 
catalogue.  In  thirty-four  years  the  commission  has 
examined  10,957  books,  and  has  approved  3,076,  or 
about  one-third.* 

*  In  the  thirty-five  years  which  comprise  the  life  of  the  commission  a 
gradual  but  marked  change  has  been  in  operation.  Sunday-school  libraries 
are  being  used  less  and  less,  and  to^vn  libraries  have  become  much  more 
numerous  and  better  patronized  by  Ijoth  old  and  young.  In  the  spring  of 
189G  the  question  arose  in  the  commission  whether,  with  the  decline  of  the 
Sunday-school  library,  the  need  which  called  it  into  being  had  not  ceased 
to  exist ;  and,  in  order  to  secure  information  as  to  the  advisability  of  con- 
tinuing its  work,  cards  were  sent  to  305  ministers  of  the  denomination  and 
to  507  public  libraries,  mostly  in  New  England,  asldng  if  the  lists  of  the 
commission  were  found  useful,  and  whether  it  was  desired  that  the  sending 
of  them  should  be  continued.  From  Unitarian  ministers  209  replies  were 
received,  one-half  using  the  lists  frequently  and  the  other  haK  occasion- 
ally or  for  the  selection  of  special  books.  From  the  town  libraries  cordial 
replies  were  received  in  220  instances,  most  of  them  warmly  approving  of 
the  lists,  which  had  been  found  very  useful.  The  result  of  this  investiga- 
tion was  to  bring  the  commission  more  directly  into  touch  with  the  vari- 
ous libraries,  and  to  give  it  a  better  understanding  of  their  needs. 


XII. 

THE   women's   alliance   AND   ITS   PREDECESSORS. 

The  Unitarian  body  has  been  remarkable  for  the 
women  of  intellectual  power  and  philanthropic  achieve- 
ment who  have  adorned  its  fellowship.  In  propor- 
tion to  their  numbers,  they  have  done  much  for  the 
improvement  and  uplifting  of  society.  In  the  early 
Unitarian  period,  however,  the  special  work  of  women 
was  for  the  most  part  confined  to  the  Smiday-school 
and  the  sewing  circle.  Whatever  the  name  by  which 
it  was  known,  whether  as  the  Dorcas  Society,  the 
Benevolent  Society,  or  the  Ladies'  Aid,  the  sewing 
circle  did  a  work  that  was  in  harmony  with  the  needs 
of  the  time,  and  did  it  well.  It  helped  the  church  with 
which  it  was  connected  in  many  quiet  ways,  and  gave 
much  aid  to  the  poor  and  suffering  members  of  the 
community.  Nor  did  it  limit  its  activities  to  purely 
local  interests ;  for  many  a  church  was  helped  by  it, 
and  the  early  missionary  societies  received  its  contribu- 
tions gladly. 

Before  the  organization  of  the  Benevolent  Fraternity 
of  Churches,  the  women  of  Boston  raised  the  money 
necessary  for  the  support  of  the  ministry  at  large  in 
that  city.  One  of  the  earliest  societies  organized 
for  general  service,  was  the  Tuckerman  Sewing  Circle, 
formed  in  1827.  Its  purpose  was  to  assist  Dr.  Tucker- 
man in  his  work  for  the  poor  of  the  city  by  providing 


women's  alliance  and  its  predecessors     283 

clothing  and  otherwise  aiding  the  needy.  The  work  of 
this  circle  is  still  going  on  in  connection  with  the  Bul- 
finch  Pliice  Church  ;  and  every  year  it  raises  a  large 
sum  of  money  for  the  charitable  work  of  the  ministry 
at  large. 

The  civil  war  heljied  women  to  recognize  the  need 
of  organization  and  co-operation  on  their  part.  In 
working  for  the  soldiers,  not  only  in  their  homes  and 
churches,  but  in  connection  with  the  Sanitary  Commis- 
sion, and  later  in  seeking  to  aid  the  freedmen,  they 
learned  their  own  power  and  the  value  of  combination 
with  others.  In  Massachusetts  the  work  of  the  Sani- 
tary Commission  was  largely  carried  on  by  Unitarians. 
In  describing  this  work,  Mrs.  Ednah  D.  Cheney  has  in- 
dicated what  was  done  by  Unitarian  women.  "  During 
the  late  war,"  she  wrote,  "  a  woman's  branch  of  the 
Sanitary  Commission  was  organized  in  New  England. 
Mary  Dwight  (Parkman)  was  its  first  president ;  but 
Abby  Williams  May  soon  took  her  place,  which  she 
held  till  the  close  of  the  war.  With  unwearied  zeal 
Miss  May  presided  over  its  councils,  organized  its  ac- 
tion, and  encouraged  others  to  work.  She  went  down 
to  the  hospitals  and  camps,  to  judge  of  their  needs  with 
her  own  eyes,  and  travelled  from  town  to  town  in  New 
England,  arousing  the  women  to  new  effort.  These 
might  be  seen,  young  and  old,  rich  and  poor,  bearing 
bundles  of  blue  flannel  through  the  streets,  and  unac- 
customed fingers  knitting  the  coarse  yarn,  wliile  the 
heart  throbbed  with  anxiety  for  the  dear  ones  gone  to 
the  war.  A  noble  band  of  nurses  volunteered  their 
services,  and  the  strife  was  as  to  which  should  go  soon- 
est and  do  the  hardest  work.  Hannah  E.  Stevenson, 
Helen  Stetson,  and  many  another  name  became  as  dear 


284  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

to  the  soldiers  as  that  of  mother  or  sister.  A  commit- 
tee was  formed  to  supply  the  colored  soldiers  with  such 
help  as  other  soldiers  received  from  their  relations ;  and, 
when  one  of  the  noblest  of  Boston's  sons  passed  through 
her  streets  at  their  head,  his  mother  *  thanked  God  for 
the  privilege  of  seeing  that  day.'  The  same  spirit  went 
into  the  work  of  educating  the  freedmen.  Young  men 
and  women,  the  noblest  and  best,  went  forth  together 
to  that  work  of  danger  and  toil."  * 

It  was  such  experiences   as   these  that   encouraged 

Unitarian  women  to  enter  upon  other 
Unitarian  Conference,  philanthropic  and  educational  labors 

when  the  civil  war  had  come  to  an 
end.  Leaders  had  been  trained  during  this  period  who 
were  capable  of  guiding  such  movements  to  a  success- 
ful issue.  The  example  of  the  women  of  the  evangel- 
ical churches  in  organizing  their  home  and  foreign  mis- 
sionary associations  also  undoubtedly  influenced,  to  a 
greater  or  lesser  degree,  the  women  of  the  liberal 
churches.  After  the  organization  of  the  National  Con- 
ference, Unitarian  women  began  to  realize,  as  never  be- 
fore, the  need  of  co-operation  in  behalf  of  the  cause 
they  had  at  heart.f  It  was  in  the  central  west,  how- 
ever, that  the  first  effort  was  made  to  organize  women 
in  the  interest  of  denominational  activities.  In  1877, 
at  the  meeting  of  the  Western  Unitarian  Conference 
held  in  Toledo,  it  was  voted  that  the  women  connected 
with  that  body  be  requested  to  organize  immediately 
for  the  purpose  of  co-operating  in  the  general  work  of 

*  Memorial  History  of  Boston,  TV.  353. 

t  See  later  chapters  for  account  of  admission  of  women  to  National  Con- 
ference, Unitarian  Association,  the  ministry,  Boston  school  board,  and 
various  other  lines  of  activity. 


women's  alliance  and  its  predecessors     285 

the  conference.  At  tliis  meeting  two  women,  Mrs. 
E.  P.  Allis  of  Milwaukee  and  Mrs.  Mary  P.  Wells 
Smith  of  Cincinnati,  were  placed  on  the  board  of  di- 
rectors. 

At  the  next  annual  meeting  of  the  Western  Con- 
ference, held  in  Chicago,  the  committee  on  organiza- 
tion, consisting  of  thirteen  women,  reported  the  readi- 
ness of  the  women  to  give  their  aid  to  the  conference 
work,  saying  in  their  report  "  that  we  signify  not  only 
our  ^vilhngness,  but  our  earnest  desire  to  share  hence- 
forth with  our  brothers  in  the  labors  and  responsibili- 
ties of  this  Association,  and  that  we  pledge  ourselves 
to  an  active  and  hearty  support  of  those  cherished  con- 
victions which  constitute  our  liberal  faith."  In  re- 
sponse to  their  request,  the  conference  selected  an  as- 
sistant secretary  to  have  charge  of  everything  relating 
to  the  work  of  women.  They  also  recommended  that 
the  women  of  the  several  churches  connected  with  the 
conference  should  organize  for  "  the  study  and  dissemi- 
nation of  the  principles  of  free  thought  and  liberal  re- 
ligious culture,  and  the  practical  assistance  of  all 
worthy  schemes  and  enterprises  intended  for  the  spread 
and  upholding  of  these  principles."  In  1881,  at  St. 
Louis,  there  was  organized  the  Women's  Western  Uni- 
tarian Conference,  \vith  Mrs.  Eliza  Sunderland  as  pres- 
ident, and  Miss  F.  L.  Roberts  as  secretary.  During 
the  seventeen  years  of  its  existence  this  conference 
raised  much  money  for  denominational  work,  developed 
many  earnest  workers,  and  accomplished  much  in  be- 
half of  the  principles  for  which  it  stood.  It  aided  in 
the  support  of  several  missionaries,  organized  the  Post- 
office  Mission  and  made  it  effective,  and  encouraged  a 
number  of  women  to  enter  the  ministry. 


286     .  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

At  the  National  Conference  session  of  1878,  held  at 
Saratoga,  where  much  enthusiasm  had 

omen  s     uxi  lary     j^^^j^  awakened,  it  was  sue^sfested  that 
Conference.  ^  . 

the  women,  who   iiad  been   hitherto 

listeners  only,  should  take  an  active  part  in  denomina- 
tional work.  At  a  gathering  in  the  parlor  of  the 
United  States  Hotel,  called  by  Mrs.  Charles  G.  Ames, 
Mrs.  Fielder  Israel,  Mrs.  J.  P.  Lesley,  and  one  or  two 
others,  a  plan  of  action  was  adopted  that  led,  in  1880, 
to  the  formation  of  the  Women's  Auxiliary  Conference. 
The  aim  of  this  organization  was  to  quicken  the  re- 
ligious life  of  the  churches,  to  stimulate  local  charitable 
and  missionary  undertakings,  and  to  raise  money  for 
missionary  enterprises  ;  but  its  work  was  to  be  done  in 
connection  with  the  National  Conference,  and  not  as  an 
independent  organization.  The  purpose  was  stated  in  a 
circular  sent  to  the  churches  immediately  after  the  organ- 
ization was  effected.  "  Hitherto,"  it  was  said,  "  women 
have  not  been  specially  represented  upon  the  board 
of  the  National  Conference,  and  have  not  fully  recog- 
nized how  helpful  they  might  be  in  its  various  under- 
takings or  how  much  they  themselves  might  gain  from 
a  closer  relation  with  it.  But  the  time  has  now  come 
when  our  service  is  called  for  in  the  broad  field,  and 
also  when  we  feel  the  need  of  being  at  work  there ;  for 
our  faith  in  the  great  truths  of  religion  is  no  less  vital 
than  that  of  our  brethren ;  and  since  the  service  we  can 
render,  being  different  from  theirs,  is  needed  to  supple- 
ment it,  and  because  it  is  pecuharly  women's  service, 
we  must  do  it,  or  it  will  be  left  undone.  It  is  one  of 
the  glories  of  such  a  work  as  ours  that  there  is  need  and 
room  in  it  for  the  best  effort  of  every  individual;  in- 
deed, without  the  faithful  service  of  all  it  must  be  in- 
complete." 


women's  alliance  and  its  predecessors     287 

In  1890,  after  ten  years  of  active  existence,  the 
conference  had  about  eighty  branches,  with  a  mem- 
bershij)  of  between  3,000  and  4,000  women.  Much  of 
the  success  of  the  conference  was  due  to  its  president, 
Abby  W.  May.  Miss  May  was  well  known  as  a 
pliilanthropist  and  educator,  and  had  occupied  many 
prominent  positions  before  she  assumed  the  presidency 
of  the  auxiliary ;  but  this  was  her  first  active  work  in 
connection  with  the  denomination. 

Admirable  as  were  the  aims,  and  excellent  as  was  the 

work  of  this  organization,  it  was  auxiliary 

to  the  National  Conference,  and  had  no  in- 
Alhance.  ' 

dependent  life.  After  the  first  enthu- 
siasm was  past,  it  failed  to  gain  ground  rapidly,  the 
membersliip  remaining  nearly  stationary  during  the 
last  few  years  of  its  existence.  As  time  went  on,  there- 
fore, it  became  evident  that  a  more  complete  organiza- 
tion was  needed  in  order  to  arouse  enthusiasm  and 
to  secure  the  loyalty  of  the  women  of  all  parts  of  the 
country.  The  New  York  League  of  Unitarian  Women, 
including  those  of  New  York,  Brooklyn,  and  New 
Jersey,  organized  in  1887,  showed  the  advantages  of  a 
closer  union  and  a  more  definite  purpose ;  and  the  de- 
sire to  bring  into  one  body  all  the  various  local  orga- 
nizations hastened  the  change.  It  was  seen  that,  in 
the  multiplication  of  organizations,  there  was  danger 
of  wasting  the  energies  used,  and  that  one  efficient 
body  was  greatly  to  be  desired. 

In  May,  1888,  a  committee  was  formed  for  the  pur- 
pose of  drafting  a  constitution  for  a  new  association, 
"  to  which  all  existing  organizations  might  subscribe." 
The  constitution  provided  by  this  committee  was  adopted 
October  24,  1890,  and  the  new  organization  took  the 


288  TJNITAEIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

name  of  the  National  Alliance  of  Unitarian  and  Other 
Liberal  Christian  Women.  The  object  proposed  was  "to 
quicken  the  life  of  our  Unitarian  churches,  and  to  bring 
the  women  of  the  denomination  into  closer  acquaint- 
ance, co-operation,  and  fellowship."  In  1891  there  were 
ninety  branches,  with  about  5,000  members.  While  the 
membership  doubled  under  the  impulse  of  the  new 
organization,  the  increase  in  the  amount  of  money 
raised  was  fivefold. 

The  admirable  results  secured  by  the  Women's  Alli- 
ance, which  has  finally  drawn  all  the  sectional  organiza- 
tions into  co-operation  with  itself,  are  in  no  small  meas- 
ure due  to  the  energy  and  the  organizing  skill  of  the 
women  who  have  been  at  the  head  of  its  activities. 
Mrs.  Judith  W.  Andrews,  of  Boston,  was  the  president 
during  the  first  year  of  its  existence.  From  1891  to 
1901  the  president  was  Mrs.  B.  Ward  Dix,  of  Brooklyn, 
who  was  succeeded  by  Miss  Emma  C.  Low,  of  the  same 
city.  Mrs.  Emily  A.  Fifield,  of  Boston,  has  been  the 
recording  secretary ;  Mrs.  Mary  B.  Davis,  of  New  York, 
the  corresponding  secretary ;  and  Miss  Flora  L.  Close, 
of  Boston,  the  treasurer  from  the  first. 

In  1891   the  executive  board  appointed  a  committee 

to  organize  a  Cheerful  Letter  Exchange, 

Cheerful  Letter  ^f  -vvrhich  Miss  Lilian  Freeman  Clarke  was 

and  Post-office  i,i  i-  r\  j-    -i^       ^  •  £ 

Missions  made    the    chan'man.       One    oi    its  cnier 

purposes  is  to  cheer  the  lonely  and  dis- 
couraged, invalids  and  others,  by  interchange  of  letters 
and  by  gifts  of  books  and  periodicals.  To  young  per- 
sons in  remote  places  it  affords  facilities  for  secui-ing 
a  better  education,  with  the  aid  of  correspondence 
classes.  By  means  of  a  little  monthly  magazine.  The 
Cheerful  Letter,  religious  teaching  is  brought  to  many 


women's  alliance  and  its  predecessors     289 

persons,  who  in  this  find  a  substitute  for  church  attend- 
ance wliere  that  is  not  possible.  Through  the  same 
channel,  as  well  as  by  correspondence,  these  workera 
help  young  mothers  in  the  right  training  of  their  chil- 
dren. Libraries  have  been  started  in  communities  desti- 
tute of  books,  and  struggling  Hbraries  have  been  aided 
with  gifts.  Forty  travelling  libraries  are  kept  in  circu- 
lation. 

Although  much  had  been  done  to  circulate  Unitarian 
tracts  and  the  other  publications  of  the  American  Unita- 
rian Association,  by  means  of  colporteurs,  by  the  aid  of 
the  post-office,  as  well  as  by  direct  gift  of  friend  to 
friend,  it  remained  for  Miss  Sallie  Ellis,  of  Cincinnati, 
in  1881,  to  systematize  this  kind  of  missionary  effort, 
and  to  make  it  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  all  agents 
for  the  dissemination  of  liberal  religious  ideas.  Miss 
Ellis  was  aided  by  the  Cincinnati  branch  of  the  Women's 
Auxihary,  but  she  was  from  the  first  the  heart  and  soul 
of  this  mission.  "  If  there  had  been  no  Miss  Ellis," 
says  one  who  knew  her  work  intimately,  "  there  would 
have  been  no  Post-office  Mission.  Many  helped  about 
it  in  various  ways,  but  she  was  the  mission." 

Miss  Ellis  was  a  frail  little  woman,  hopelessly  deaf 
and  suffering  from  an  incurable  disease.  Notwithstand- 
ing her  physical  Umitations,  she  longed  to  be  of  service 
to  the  faith  she  cherished ;  and  the  missionary  spirit 
burned  strong  within  her.  "  I  want,"  she  said  often, 
"  to  do  something  for  Unitarianism  before  I  die  " ;  but 
all  the  usual  avenues  of  opportunity  seemed  firmly 
closed  to  her.  At  last,  in  the  winter  of  1877-78,  Rev. 
Charles  W.  Wendte,  then  her  pastor,  anxious  to  find 
something  for  her  to  do,  proposed  thr.t  she  should  send 
out  the  Association's  tracts  and  copies  of  the  Pamphlet 


290  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

Mission  to  persons  in  the  west  who  were  interested  in 
the  liberal  faith.  She  took  up  this  work  gladly,  and 
during  that  winter  distributed  1,846  tracts  and  211 
copies  of  the  Pamphlet  Mission  in  twenty-six  States. 

A  tract  table  m  the  vestibule  of  the  church  was 
started  by  Miss  Ellis ;  and  she  not  only  distributed  ser- 
mons freely  in  this  way,  but  she  also  sold  Unitarian 
books.  It  was  in  1881  that  she  was  made  the  secre- 
tary of  the  newly  organized  Women's  Auxihary  in  Cin- 
cinnati, and  that  her  work  really  began  systematically. 
At  the  suggestion  of  Mrs.  Mary  P.  Wells  Smith,  adver- 
tisements were  inserted  in  the  daily  papers,  and  offers 
made  to  send  Unitarian  publications,  when  requested. 
Many  doubted  the  advisability  of  such  an  enterprise, 
but  the  letters  received  soon  indicated  that  an  impor- 
tant method  of  mission  work  had  been  discovered. 
Rev.  Wilham  C.  Gannett  christened  this  work  the  Post- 
office  Mission,  and  that  name  it  has  since  retained. 

Only  four  and  one-half  years  were  permitted  to  Miss 
Elhs  in  which  to  accomplish  her  work, —  a  work  dear 
to  her  heart,  and  one  for  which  her  many  losses  and 
sufferings  had  prepared  her.  During  this  period  she 
wrote  2,500  letters,  sent  out  22,000  tracts  and  papers, 
sold  286  books,  and  loaned  258.  The  real  value  of 
such  work  cannot  be  rightly  estimated  in  figures. 
Through  her  influence,  several  young  men  entered  the 
ministry  who  are  to-day  doing  effective  work.  She 
saved  several  persons  from  doubt  and  despair,  gave 
strength  to  the  weak,  and  comfort  to  those  who 
mourned.  At  her  death,  in  1885,  the  letters  received 
from  many  of  her  correspondents  showed  how  strong 
and  deep  had  been  her  influence.* 

*Mary  P.  W.  Smith,  Miss  EUis's  Mission. 


women's  alliance  and  its  predecessors     291 

The  movement  initiated  by  Miss  Ellis  grew  rapidly, 
and  has  become  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  all  agents 
for  the  dissemination  of  liberal  religious  ideas.  In  the 
year  1900  the  number  of  correspondents  was  about  5,- 
000 ;  and  the  number  of  tracts,  sermons,  periodicals, 
and  books  distributed  was  about  200,000.  The  extent 
of  this  mission  is  also  seen  in  the  fact  that  in  that  year 
about  8,000  letters  were  written  by  the  workers,  and 
about  6,000  were  received. 

By  means  of  the  Post-office  Mission  the  hterature  of 
the  denomination,  the  tracts  of  the  Unitarian  Associa- 
tion, copies  of  The  Christian  Register,  and  other  period- 
icals have  been  scattered  all  over  the  world.  Thou- 
sands of  sermons  are  distributed  also  from  tables  in 
church  vestibules.  Several  branches  publish  and  ex- 
change sermons,  and  a  loan  library  has  been  established 
to  supplement  this  work.* 

From  the  distribution  of  tracts  and  sermons  has 
grown  the  formation  of  "  Sunday  Circles  "  and  "  Groups  " 
of  Unitarians,  carefully  planned  circuit  preaching,  the 
employment  of  missionaries,  and  the  building  of  chapels 
or  small  churches.  Two  of  these  are  already  built ;  and 
the  Alliance  has  insured  the  support  of  their  ministers 
for  five  years,  and  two  others  are  in  the  process  of  erec- 
tion. 

The  women  on  the  Pacific  coast  have  been  compelled 
in  a  large  measure  to  organize  their  own  work 

A.  s  SO  PIS  t  ft 

.,,.  and  to  adopt  their  own  methods,  the  distance 

Alliances.  ^  _  ' 

being  too  great  for  immediate  co-operation  with 
the  other  organizations.  In  this  work  they  have  not 
only  displayed  energy  and  perseverance,  but,  says  one 
who    knows    intimately    of    their    efforts,    "they    have 

*  This  library  is  in  tho  Unitarian  Building,  25  Beacon  Street,  Boston. 


292  UNITAKIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

shown  executive  ability  and  power  as  organizers  that 
have  furnished  an  example  to  many  non-sectarian  or- 
ganizations of  women,  and  have  made  the  Unitarian 
women  conspicuous  in  all  charitable  and  social  ac- 
tivities." 

The  oldest  society  of  Unitarian  women  on  the  Pacific 
coast  was  coimected  with  the  First  Church  in  San  Fran- 
cisco. In  1873  it  was  reorganized  as  the  Society  for 
Christian  Work.  Its  work  has  been  mainly  social  and 
philanthropic,  contributing  reading  matter  to  penal  in- 
stitutions, money  for  the  care  of  the  poor  of  the  city, 
and  aiding  every  new  Unitarian  church  in  the  State. 
The  Channing  Auxiliary  combines  the  activities  of  the 
churches  in  the  vicinity  of  San  Francisco  with  those  m 
the  city.  Its  objects  are  "  moral  and  religious  culture, 
practical  literary  work,  and  co-operation  with  the  de- 
nominational and  missionary  agencies  of  the  Unitarian 
faith."  From  1890  to  1899  this  society  spent  over 
$6,000  in  aid  of  denominational  enterprises,  and  it  ap- 
propriates annually  a  large  sum  for  Post-office  Mission 
work.  While  these  two  organizations  represent  San 
Francisco  and  its  neighborhood,  the  women  up  and 
down  the  coast  have  also  been  earnest  workers.  In 
1890  they  felt  the  need  of  a  closer  bond  of  union,  and 
organized  the  Women's  Unitarian  Conference  of  the 
Pacific  Coast.  In  1894  this  conference  became  a  branch 
of  the  National  Alliance,  and  has  co-operated  cordially 
with  it  since  tliat  time. 

The  New  York  League  of  Unitarian  Women  has 
been  active  in  forming  Alliance  branches  and  new 
churches,  as  well  as  in  affordmg  aid  to  Meadville  stu- 
dents. The  Chicago  Associate  Alliance,  the  Southern 
Associate  AlUtmce,  and  the  Connecticut  Valley  Asso- 


women's  alliance  and  its  predecessors     293 

ciate  Alliance  were  organized  in  1890.  The  Worcester 
League  of  Unitarian  Women  began  its  existence  in 
1889,  and  was  reorganized  in  connection  with  the  Na- 
tional Alliance  in  1892. 

In  thus  coming  into  closer  relations  with  each  other 
and  forming  a  national  organization,  each  local 

_,  ,.  ,  branch  continues  free  in  its  own  action,  chooses 
Metnods. 

its  own  methods  of  caiTying  on  its  work,  but 
keeps  close  knowledge  of  what  the  Alliance  as  a  whole 
is  doing,  that  all  interference  with  others  and  overlapping 
of  assistance  may  be  avoided,  and  the  greatest  mutual 
benefit  may  be  secured.  Tliis  method  gives  the  utmost 
independence  to  the  branches,  while  preserving  the  ele- 
ment of  personal  interest  in  all  financial  disbursements, 
and  creates  a  strong  bond  of  sympathy  between  those 
who  give  and  those  who  receive. 

The  first  duty  of  each  branch  is  to  strengthen  the 
church  to  which  its  members  belong ;  and  the  value  of 
such  an  organized  group  of  women,  meeting  to  exchange 
ideas  and  experiences  on  the  most  vital  topics  of  human 
interest,  has  been  everywhere  recognized.  Each  branch 
is  expected  to  engage  in  some  form  of  religious  study, 
not  only  for  the  improvement  of  the  members  them- 
selves, but  to  enable  them  to  gain,  and  to  give  others,  a 
comprehensive  knowledge  of  Unitarian  beliefs.  A  study 
class  committee  provides  programmes  for  the  use  of  the 
branches,  arranges  for  the  lending  and  exchange  of 
papers,  and  assists  those  who  do  not  have  access  to 
books  of  reference  or  are  remote  from  the  centres  of 
Unitarian  thought  and  activity. 

With  this  preparation  the  Alliance  undertakes  the 
higher  service  of  joining  in  the  missionary  activities  of 
the  denomination,  supplementing  as  far  as  possible  the 


294  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

work  of  the  American  Unitarian  Association.  This  in- 
cludes sending  missionaries  into  new  fields,  aiding  small 
and  struggling  churches,  helping  to  found  new  ones, 
supporting  ministers  at  important  points,  and  dis- 
tributing rehgious  literature  among  those  who  need 
Hght  on  religious  problems. 


XIII. 

MISSIONS   TO   INDIA    AND   JAPAN. 

Foreign  missions  have  never  commanded  a  general 
interest  on  the  part  of  Unitarians.  Their  disUke  of  the 
proselyting  spirit,  their  intense  love  of  liberty  for 
others  as  well  as  for  themselves,  and  the  absence  of 
sectarian  feeling  have  combined  to  make  them,  as  a 
body,  indifferent  to  the  propagation  of  their  faith  in 
other  countries.  They  have  done  something,  however, 
to  express  their  sympathy  with  those  of  kindred  faith 
in  foreign  lands. 

In  1829  the  younger  Henry  Ware  visited  England 
and  Ireland  as  the  foreign  secretary  of  the  Unitarian 
Association;  and  at  the  annual  meeting  of  1831  he  re- 
ported the  results  of  his  inquiries.*  This  was  the  begin- 
ning of  many  interchanges  of  good  fellowship  with  the 

*  First  Report  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  American  Unitarian 
Association,  Ki.  "The  thoughts  of  the  committee  have  been  turned  to 
their  brethren  in  other  lands.  A  correspondence  has  been  opened  with 
Unitarians  in  England,  and  the  coincidence  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  the 
British  and  Foreign  Unitarian  Association,  and  the  American  Unitarian 
Association  were  organized  on  the  same  day,  for  the  same  objects,  and 
without  the  least  previous  concert.  Our  good  wishes  have  been  reciprocated 
by  the  directors  of  the  British  Society.  Letters  received  from  gentlemen 
who  have  recently  visited  England  speak  of  the  interest  which  our  brethren 
in  that  country  feel  for  us,  and  of  their  desire  to  strengthen  the  bonds  of 
union.  A  constant  communication  will  be  preserved  between  the  two  As- 
sociations, and  your  committee  believe  it  will  have  a  beneficial  effect,  by 
making  us  better  acquainted  with  one  another,  by  introducing  the  publi- 
cations of  each  country  into  the  other,  by  the  influence  which  we  shall 
mutually  exert,  and  by  the  strength  which  will  be  given  to  our  separate, 
or  it  may  be,  to  our  united  efforts  for  the  spread  of  the  glorious  gospel  of 
our  Lord  and  Saviour." 


296  UNITAKIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

Unitarians  of  Great  Britain,  and  also  with  those  of 
Hungary,  Transylvania,  France,  Germany,  and  other 
European  countries.  During  the  first  decade  or  two  of 
the  existence  of  the  Unitarian  Association  much  inter- 
est was  taken  in  the  liberal  movements  in  Geneva ;  and 
the  third  annual  report  gave  account  of  what  was  being 
done  in  that  city  and  in  Calcutta,  as  well  as  in  Tran- 
sylvania and  Great  Britain.  Some  years  later,  aid  was 
promised  to  the  Unitarians  of  Hungary  in  a  time  of 
persecution ;  but  they  were  dispossessed  of  their  schools 
before  help  reached  them.  In  1868  the  Association 
founded  Channing  and  Priestley  professorships  in  the 
theological  school  at  Kolozsvar,  and  Mrs.  Anna  Rich- 
mond furnished  money  for  a  permanent  professorship 
in  the  same  institution.  Soon  after  the  renewed  activ- 
ity of  1865  an  unsuccessful  attempt  was  made  to  estab- 
lish an  American  Unitarian  church  in  Paris;  and  aid 
was  given  to  the  founding  of  an  English  liberal  church 
in  that  city.  These  are  indications  of  the  many  inter- 
changes of  fellowship  and  helpfulness  between  the  Uni- 
tarians of  this  country  and  those  of  Europe. 

As  early  as  1824  began  a  movement  to  aid  the  native 

Unitarians  of  India,  partly  the  result  of 
Society  respecting  .^  lively  interest  in  Rammohun  Roy  and 
ReUgioVin  India.     ^^^    republication   in    this   country    of 

his  writings.  On  June  7,  1822,  The 
Christian  Register  gave  an  account  of  the  adoption  of 
Unitarianism  by  that  remarkable  Hindoo  leader ;  and  it 
often  recurred  to  the  subject  in  later  years.  In  Feb- 
ruary of  the  next  year  it  described  the  formation  of  a 
Unitarian  society  in  Calcutta,  and  the  conversion  to 
Unitarianism  of  a  Baptist  missionary,  Rev.  William 
Adam,  as  a  result  of  his  attempt  to  convert  Rammo- 


MISSIONS    TO    INDIA    AND   JAPAN  297 

him  Roy.  There  followed  frequent  reports  of  this 
movement,  and  after  a  few  months  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Adam  was  published.  Even  before  this  there  had 
appeared  accounts  of  William  Roberts,  of  Madras,  a 
native  Tamil,  who  had  been  educated  in  England,  and 
had  there  become  a  Unitarian.  On  his  return  to  his 
own  country  he  had  estabhshed  small  congregations  in 
the  suburbs  of  Madras. 

In  1823  a  letter  from  Rev.  William  Adam  was  re- 
ceived in  Boston,  addressed  to  Dr.  Channing.  It  was 
put  mto  the  hands  of  the  younger  Henry  Ware,  who 
wrote  to  Mr.  Adam  and  Rammohun  Roy,  propounding 
to  them  a  number  of  questions  in  regard  to  the  relig- 
ious situation  in  India.  In  182-1  were  pubhshed  in  a 
volume  the  letter  of  Ware  and  the  series  of  questions 
sent  by  him  to  India,  together  with  the  replies  of 
Rammohun  Roy  and  William  Adam.*  This  book  was 
one  of  much  interest,  and  furnished  the  first  systematic 
account  that  had  been  given  to  the  public  of  the  re- 
formatory religious  interest  awakened  at  that  time  in 
India.  In  February,  1825,  was  organized  the  Society 
for  obtaining  Information  respecting  the  State  of  Relig- 
ion in  India,  "  with  a  view  to  obtain  and  diffuse  m- 
formation  and  to  devise  and  recommend  means  for  the 
promotion  of  Cliristianity  in  that  part  of  the  world." 
The  younger  Henry  Ware  was  made  the  president,  and 
Dr.  Tuckerman  the  secretary.  Already  a  fund  had 
been  collected  to  aid  the  British  Indian  Unitarian  Asso- 
ciation of  Calcutta  in  its  missionary  efforts,  especially  in 
building  a  church  and  maintaining  a  minister. 

During  the  year  1825  there   was  published  at  the 

♦Correspondence  relative  to  the  Prospects  of  Christianity  and  the 
Means  of  Promoting  its  Reception  in  India.  Cambridge  :  Hilliard  &  Met- 
calfe.   18124.    138  pp. 


298  UNITAKIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

office  of  The  Christian  Register  a  pamphlet  of  sixty- 
three  pages,  written  by  a  member  of  the  Information 
Society,  being  An  Appeal  to  Liberal  Christians  for  the 
Cause  of  Christianity  in  India.  In  1826  Dr.  Tucker- 
man  addressed  A  Letter  on  the  Principles  of  the  Mis- 
sionary Enterprise  to  the  executive  committee  of  the 
Unitarian  Association,  in  which  he  gave  a  noble  exposi- 
tion of  the  work  of  foreign  missions,  especially  with 
reference  to  the  Indian  field.  This  letter  and  other 
writings  of  Tuckerman  served  to  arouse  much  interest. 
The  Appeal  urged  what  many  Unitarians  had  large 
faith  in, —  the  promulgation  of  "just  and  rational  views 
of  our  religion  "  "  upon  enlarged  and  liberal  principles, 
from  which  we  may  hope  for  the  speedy  establishment 
and  the  wider  extension  there  of  the  uncorrupted  truth 
as  it  is  in  Jesus." 

In  1826  the  sum  of  $7,000  was  secured  for  this 
work;  and  in  the  spring  of  1827  a  pledge  was  made  to 
send  yearly  to  Calcutta  the  sum  of  i600  for  ten  years. 
These  pledges  were  in  connection  with  like  efforts 
made  by  the  British  and  Foreign  Unitarian  Association. 
In  1839  Mr.  Adam  visited  the  United  States,  and  spoke 
at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Unitarian  Association. 
Following  this,  he  was  for  a  few  years  professor  of  Ori- 
ental literature  in  Harvard  University. 

In  1853  Rev.  Charles  T.  Brooks,  who  was  for  many 

years  the  minister  of  the  church  in  Newport, 
;-T  J-  visited  India  in  search   of   health;    and  he 

was  commissioned  by  the  Unitarian  Associa- 
tion to  make  inquiries  as  to  the  prospects  for  mission- 
ary labors  in  that  country.  In  Madras  he  met  WilUam 
Roberts,  the  younger  son  of  the  former  Unitarian 
preacher   there    and   visited   the    several  missions  car- 


MISSIONS   TO   INDIA   AND   JAPAN  299 

ried  on  by  him.  In  Calcutta  he  found  Unitarians,  but 
the  work  of  Mr.  Adam  had  left  almost  no  results. 
The  report  of  Mr.  Brooks  was  such  that  an  effort  was 
at  once  made  to  secure  a  missionary  for  India.*  In 
1855  Rev.  Charles  H.  A.  Dall  undertook  this  mission. 
He  had  been  a  minister  at  large  in  St.  Louis,  Baltimore, 
and  Portsmouth,  and  settled  over  parishes  in  Needham 
and  Toronto.  Mr.  Dall  was  given  the  widest  liberty 
of  action  in  conducting  his  mission,  as  liis  instructions 
indicate :  "  There  you  are  to  enter  upon  the  work  of  a 
missionary ;  and  whether  by  preaching,  in  English  or 
through  an  interpreter,  or  by  school-teaching  or  by  writ- 
ing for  the  press,  or  by  visiting  from  house  to  house,  or 
by  translating  tracts,  or  by  circulation  of  books,  you  are 
instructed,  what  we  know  your  heart  will  prompt  you 
to  do,  to  give  yourself  to  a  life  of  usefulness  as  a  ser- 
vant of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

On  his  arrival  at  Calcutta,  Mr,  Dall  was  in  a  pros- 
trate condition,  and  had  to  be  carried  ashore.  After  a 
time  he  rallied  and  began  his  work.  He  gathered  a 
small  congregation  about  him,  then  began  teaching ;  and 
his  work  grew  until  he  had  four  large  and  flourishmg 
schools  under  his  charge.  In  these  he  gave  special  at- 
tention to  moral  and  rehgious  training,  and  to  the  in- 
dustrial arts.  In  his  school  work  he  had  the  efficient 
aid  of  j\Iiss  Chamberlain,  and  after  her  death  of  Mrs. 
Helen  Tompkins.  One  of  the  native  teachers,  Dwark- 
anath  Smgha,  was  of  great  ser-\dce  in  securing  the  in- 
terest of  the  natives,  being  at  the  head,  for  many  years, 
of  all  the  schools  under  Mr.  Dall's  control.  Mr.  Dall 
founded  the    Calcutta  School   of   Industrial   Art,    the 

*  Christian  Examiner,  LXIII.  '66,  India's  Appeal  to  Christian  Uni- 
tarians, by  Rev.  C.  T.  Brooks. 


300  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

Useful  Arts'  School,  Hindoo  Girls'  School,  as  well  as 
a  school  for  the  waifs  of  the  streets.  In  these  schools 
were  8,000  pupils,  mostly  Hindoos,  who  were  taught 
a  practical  religion, —  the  simple  principles  of  the 
gospel.  In  education  Mr.  Dall  accomplished  large  re- 
sults, not  only  by  his  schools,  but  by  talking  and  lect- 
uring on  the  subject.  His  influence  was  especially  felt 
in  the  education  of  girls  and  in  industrial  training,  in 
both  of  which  directions  he  was  a  pioneer.  Only  one 
of  his  schools  is  now  in  existence,  simply  because  the 
government  took  up  the  w^ork  he  began,  and  gave  it  a 
larger  support  than  was  possible  on  the  part  of  any  in- 
dividual or  any  society. 

Mr.  Dall  wrote  extensively  for  the  leading  journals 
of  India,  and  in  that  way  he  reached  a  large  number  of 
persons  throughout  the  country.  Tliis  brought  him  a 
large  correspondence,  and  he  frequently  journeyed  far 
to  visit  individuals  and  congregations  thus  brought  to 
his  knowledge.  For  many  years  he  was  one  of  the 
leading  men  of  Calcutta.  Few  great  public  meetings 
of  any  reformatory  or  educational  kind  were  held  with- 
out his  having  a  prominent  part  in  them.  He  pubhshed 
great  numbers  of  tracts  and  lectures,*  and  translated 
the  works  of  the  leading  Unitarians  of  America  and 
Great  Britain  into  Hindostanee,  Bengali,  Tamil,  San- 
scrit, and  other  native  languages.  His  zeal  m  circu- 
lating liberal  writings  was  great,  and  met  with  a  large 
reward.  He  distributed  hundreds  of  copies  of  the  com- 
plete Works  of  Dr.  Channing,  and  these  brought  many 
persons  to  the  acceptance  of  Unitarianism.    When  Rev. 

•Some  Gospel  Principles,  in  Ten  Lectures,  by  C.  H.  A.  Dall,  Cal- 
cutta, 1856.  Also  see  The  Mission  to  India  instituted  by  the  American 
Unitarian  Association.     Boston :  Office  of  the  Quarterly  Journal.    1857. 


MISSIONS   TO   INDIA   AND   JAPAN  301 

Jabez  T.  Sunderland  was  in  India,  in  1895-96,  he 
found  many  traces  of  these  volumes,  even  in  remote 
parts  of  the  country.  When  he  was  in  Madras,  a  very 
intelligent  Hindoo  walked  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
to  procure  of  him  a  copy  of  Channing's  biography  to 
replace  a  copy  received  from  Mr.  Dall,  which  had  been 
reread  and  loaned  until  it  was  almost  worn  out. 

A  considerable  part  of  Mr.  Ball's  influence  was  in 
connection  with  the  Brahmo-Somaj,  in  directing  its  re- 
ligious, educational,  and  reformatory  work.  He  did  not 
make  many  nominal  Unitarians ;  but  he  had  a  very  large 
influence  in  shaping  the  life  of  India  by  his  personal 
influence  and  by  the  weight  of  his  religious  character. 
Everywhere  he  was  greatly  beloved.  He  earned  con- 
siderable sums  as  a  reporter  and  author  in  aid  of  his 
mission,  and  he  lived  in  a  most  abstemious  manner  in 
order  to  devote  as  much  money  as  possible  to  his  work.* 
In  this  devoted  service  he  continued  until  his  death, 
which  took  place  July  18,  1886. 

Since  the  death  of  Mr.  Dall  the  aid  given  to  India  by 

American  Unitarians  has  been  through  the 
Recent  Work     natives  themselves.     The  work  of  Pundita 

Ramabai  has  received  considerable  assist- 
ance, as  has  also  that  of  Mozoomdar.  Early  in  the 
year  1888,  Rev.  Brooke  Herford,  then  minister  of  the 
Arlington  Street  Church  in  Boston,  received  from  India 
a  letter  addressed  "  To  the  chief  pastor  of  the  Unita- 
rian congregation  at  Boston."  It  proved  to  be  from  a 
young  lawyer  or  pleader  in  Banda,  North-west  Prov- 
inces, named  Akbar  Masih.  His  father  was  an  educated 
Mohammedan,  who  in  early  life  had  been  converted  to 

*See  Our  Indian  Mission  and  Our  First  Missionary,  by  Rev.  John  H. 
Heywood,  Boston,  1.S87. 


302  UNITAEIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

Calvinistic  Christianity,  and  had  become  a  missionary. 
At  the  Calcutta  University  the  son  had  outgrown  the 
faith  he  had  been  taught ;  and  a  volume  of  Channing's 
Works,  put  in  circulation  by  Mr.  Dall,  had  given  him 
the  mental  and  spiritual  teaching  he  desired.  Tracts 
and  books  were  sent  him,  and  a  correspondence  fol- 
lowed. He  read  with  great  delight  what  he  received, 
and  in  a  year  or  two  he  desired  to  become  a  missionary. 
Mr.  Herford  sent  him  money,  and  he  was  employed  to 
spend  one-third  of  his  time  in  the  missionary  service  of 
Unitarianism.  When  Mr.  Herford  removed  to  London, 
the  support  of  Akbar  Masih  was  arranged  for  in  Eng- 
land ;  and  he  has  done  a  large  work  in  preaching,  lect- 
uring, holding  conferences,  and  publishing  tracts  and 
books. 

Nearly  in  the  same  week  in  which  Mr.  Herford  re- 
ceived his  first  letter  from  Akbar  Masih,  Mr.  Sunder- 
land, in  Ann  Arbor,  received  one  from  Hajam  Kissor 
Singh,  Jowai,  Khasi  Hills,  Assam.  He  was  a  young 
man  employed  by  the  government  as  a  surveyor,  was 
well  educated,  but  belonged  to  one  of  the  primitive 
tribes  that  retain  their  aboriginal  religion  and  customs 
to  a  large  extent.  He  had  been  taught  orthodox  Chris- 
tianity, however;  but  it  was  not  satisfactory  to  him. 
A  Brahmo  friend  loaned  him  a  coj)y  of  Channing,  and 
furnished  liim  with  Mr.  Ball's  address.  In  the  bundle 
of  tracts  sent  him  by  Mr.  Dall  was  a  copy  of  The  Uni- 
tarian, which  led  him  to  write  to  its  editor,  Mr.  Sunder- 
land. A  correspondence  followed,  and  the  sending  of 
many  tracts  and  books.  Mr.  Singh  began  to  talk  of  his 
new  views  to  others,  who  gathered  in  his  room  on  Sun- 
day afternoons  for  religious  inquiry  and  worship.  Soon 
there  was  a  call  for  sinular  meetings  in  another  village, 


MISSIONS   TO   INDIA   AND   JAPAN  303 

and  Mr.  Singh  began  to  serve  as  a  lay-preacher.  A 
church  was  organized  in  Jowai,  and  then  a  day  school 
was  opened.  Tracts  and  books  being  necessary  in  order 
to  carry  on  the  work  successfully,  Mr.  Sunderland  raised 
the  necessary  money,  printed  them  in  Khasi  at  Ann 
Arbor,  and  forwarded  them  to  Assam,  thus  greatly  fa- 
cilitating the  labors  of  Mr.  Singh  and  his  assistants. 
Also,  through  the  help  of  American  Unitarians, 
Mr.  Singh  was  able  to  secure  the  aid  of  two  paid 
helpers.  When  Mr.  Sunderland  visited  the  Khasi  Hills, 
in  1895,  as  the  agent  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Uni- 
tarian Association,  he  helped  to  ordain  a  regular  pastor ; 
and  he  found  church  buildings  in  five  villages,  day- 
schools  in  four,  and  religious  circles  meeting  in  eight  or 
nine  others.  This  mission  is  now  being  supported  by 
the  English  Unitarians. 

After  the  death  of  Mr.  Dall  it  was  not  found  desir- 
able to  continue  his  educational  work,  and  the 

The  Begin-  missionary  activities  in  India  naturally  came 

nings  in  , 

Japan.  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  British  Unitarian 

Association.  At  the  same  time,  Japan  offered 
an  inviting  field  for  missionary  effort,  and  one  not 
hitherto  occupied  by  Unitarians.  In  1884  a  movement 
began  in  that  coimtry,  looking  to  the  introduction  of  a 
rational  Christianity,  the  leader  being  Yukichi  Fukuzawa, 
a  prominent  statesman,  head  of  the  Keiogijiku  Univer- 
sity and  editor  of  the  leading  newspaper.  In  1886 
Fumio  Yano,  after  a  visit  to  England,  took  up  the  same 
mission,  and  urged  the  adoption  of  Christianity  as  a 
moral  force  in  the  life  of  the  nation.  The  latter  inter- 
preted Unitarianism  as  being  the  form  of  Christianity 
needed  in  Japan,  and  strongly  urged  its  acceptance. 
Other  prominent  men  joined  with  these  two  in  commend- 


304  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

ing  a  rational  Christianity  to  their  countrymen.  Not 
long  afterwards  the  American  Unitarian  Association  was 
asked  to  estabhsh  a  mission  in  that  country.  In  1887 
Rev.  Arthur  M.  Knapp  was  sent  to  Japan  to  investigate 
the  situation,  and  in  the  spring  of  1889  he  returned  to 
report  the  results  of  his  inquiries.  He  had  been  wel- 
comed by  the  leading  men,  such  as  the  Marquis  Toku- 
jawa  and  Kentaro  Kaneko,  who  opened  to  him  many 
avenues  of  influence.  He  hpd  written  for  the  most  im- 
portant newspapers,  had  come  into  personal  contact  with 
the  leading  men  of  all  parties,  had  lectured  on  many 
occasions  to  highly  educated  audiences,  and  had  opened 
a  wide-reaching  correspondence. 

On  his  return  to  Japan,  in  1889,  Mr.  Knapp  was  pre- 
pared to  begin  systematic  work  in  behalf  of  rational 
Christianity.  It  was  not  his  purpose,  however,  to  seek 
to  establish  Unitarianism  there  as  the  basis  of  a  new 
Japanese  sect,  but  to  diffuse  it  as  a  leaven  for  the  moral 
and  spiritual  elevation  of  the  people  of  Japan.  "  The 
errand  of  Unitarianism  in  Japan,"  said  Mr.  Knapp  to 
the  Japanese,  "is  based  upon  the  familiar  idea  of  the 
sympathy  of  religions.  With  the  conviction  that  we 
are  the  messengers  of  distinctive  and  valuable  truths 
which  have  not  yet  been  emphasized,  and  that,  in  re- 
turn, there  is  much  in  your  faith  and  life  which  to  our 
harm  we  have  not  emphasized,  receive  us  not  as  theo- 
logical propagandists,  but  as  messengers  of  the  new 
gospel  of  human  brotherhood  in  the  religion  of  man." 

With  Mr.  Knapp  were  associated  Rev.  Clay  Mac- 
Cauley  as  colleague,  and  also  Garrett  Droppers,  John 
H.  Wigmore,  and  William  Shields  Liscomb,  who  were 
to  become  professors  in  the  Keiogijiku,  a  leading  uni- 
versity, situated  in  Tokio,  and  to  give  such  aid  as  they 


MISSIONS    TO    INDIA    AND   JAPAN  305 

could  to  the  Unitarian  mission.  With  these  men  was 
soon  associated  Rev.  H.  W.  Hawkes,  a  young  English 
minister,  who  gave  his  services  to  tliis  important  work. 
There  also  accompanied  the  American  party  Mr.  Sai- 
chiro  Kanda,  who  had  become  a  Unitarian  while  resid- 
ing in  San  Francisco,  and  had  attended  the  Meadville 
Theological  School.  In  the  winter  of  1890-91,  Mr. 
Knapp  returned  to  the  United  States,  and  a  little  later 
Mr.  Hawkes  went  back  to  England.  In  1891  Rev. 
Wilham  I.  Lawrance  joined  the  mission  force ;  and  he 
continued  with  it  until  1894,  when  a  severe  illness  com- 
pelled his  resignation.  Professor  Wigmore  returned  to 
America  in  1892  to  accept  a  chair  in  the  North-western 
University ;  Professor  Liscomb  came  home  in  1893, 
dying  soon  after  his  return ;  while  Professor  Droppers 
remained  until  the  winter  of  1898,  when  he  became  the 
president  of  the  University  of  South  Dakota.  In  the 
begimiing  of  1900,  Mr.  MacCauley,  after  having  had 
direction  of  the  mission  for  nine  years,  returned  to 
America ;  and  it  was  left  m  control  of  the  Japanese 
Unitarian  Association,  the  American  Association  con- 
tinuing to  give  it  generous  financial  aid  and  counsel. 

As  already  indicated,  the  purpose  of  the  mission  has 
not  been  Unitarian  propagandism  as  such.  It  has  been 
that  of  religious  enlightenment,  the  bringing  to  the 
Japanese,  in  a  catholic  and  humanitarian  spirit,  of  the 
body  of  religious  truths  and  convictions  known  as 
Unitarianism,  and  then  permitting  them  to  organize 
themselves  after  the  manner  of  their  own  national  hfe. 
No  churches  were  organized  by  the  representatives  of 
the  American  Unitarian  Association.  Those  that  have 
come  into  existence  have  been  wholly  at  the  initiative 
of  the  natives.     Early  in  1894  was  erected,  in  Tokio, 


306  T7NITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

Yuiitsukwan,  or  Unity  Hall,  with  money  furnished 
largely  from  the  United  States.  This  building  serves 
as  the  headquarters  for  Unitarian  work,  including  lect- 
ures and  social  and  religious  meetings.  In  1896  was 
organized  the  Japanese  Unitarian  Association  for  the 
work  of  diffusing  Unitarian  principles  throughout  the 
country.  The  mission  is  organized  mto  the  three  de- 
partments of  church  extension,  publication,  and  educa- 
tion. Of  this  Association,  Jitsunen  Saji,  formerly  a 
prominent  Buddhist  lecturer  and  a  member  at  present 
of  the  city  council  of  Tokyo,  is  the  superintendent. 
The  secretary  has  been  Saichiro  Kanda,  who  has  faith- 
fully given  his  time  to  this  work  since  he  returned  to 
Japan  with  the  mission  party,  in  1889.  The  broad 
purposes  of  the  Japanese  Unitarian  Association  have 
been  clearly  defined  in  its  constitution :  "  We  desire  to 
act  in  accordance  with  God's  will,  which  we  perceive  by 
our  inborn  reason.  We  strive  to  follow  the  guidance 
of  noble  religion,  exact  science  and  philosophy,  and  to 
discover  their  truth.  We  beheve  it  to  be  a  natural  law 
of  the  human  mind  to  investigate  freely  all  phenomena 
of  the  universe.  We  aim  to  maintain  the  peace  of  the 
world,  and  to  promote  the  happiness  of  mankind.  We 
endeavor  to  assert  our  rights,  and  to  fulfil  our  duties  as 
Japanese  citizens  ;  and  to  increase  the  prosperity  of  the 
country  by  all  honorable  means." 

Early  in  1891  was  begmi  the  publication  in  Japanese 
of  a  magazine  called  at  first  The  Unitarian,  but  after- 
wards Religion.  The  paid  circulation  was  about  1,000 
copies,  but  it  was  largely  used  as  a  tract  for  free  distri- 
bution. In  1897  this  magazine  was  merged  into  a 
popular  religious  monthly  called  Rikugo-ZassM  or  Cos- 
mos, which  has  a  large  circulation.     It  is  published  at 


i 

J 

Ht  <  H-Xf=v^   ■           ^■Irn 

—  ^' 

K '^E^I^^H^IH'^I^hS^h 

».          ^ 

f 

.  -v         ^            '^ 

^^■HP5^\:,,..          .^,   :..  7:.-..  ,  "^y.^W--!T!^.i^^ 

y.i|lilli!ll(l((illillllli!! 


MISSIONS   TO   INDIA   AND   JAPAN  307 

the  headquarters  of  the  Japanese  Unitarian  Association, 
and  is  the  organ  of  the  hberalizing  work  carried  on  by 
that  institution.  The  Association  has  translated  thirty 
or  forty  American  and  EngHsh  tracts, —  some  have  been 
added  by  native  writers ;  and  these  were  distributed  to 
the  number  of  100,000  in  1900.  A  number  of  impor- 
tant liberal  books,  including  Bixby's  Crisis  in  Morals, 
Clarke's  Steps  m  Belief,  and  Fiske's  Idea  of  God,  have 
been  translated  into  Japanese,  and  obtain  a  ready  sale. 
An  extensive  work  of  education  is  carried  on  through 
the  press,  nearly  all  the  leading  journals  having  been 
freely  open  to  the  Unitarians  since  the  beginning  of  the 
mission. 

The  direct  work  of  education  has  been  the  most  im- 
portant of  all  the  phases  of  the  mission's  activities.  A 
hbrary  of  several  thousand  volumes,  representing  all 
phases  of  modern  thought,  has  been  collected  in  Unity 
Hall ;  and  it  is  of  great  value  to  the  teaching  carried  on 
there.  Lectures  are  given  every  Sunday  in  Unity  Hall, 
and  listened  to  by  large  audiences.  Much  has  been  done 
in  various  parts  of  Tokyo,  as  well  as  elsewhere,  to  reach 
the  student  class,  and  educated  persons  in  all  classes  of 
society  ;  and  many  persons  have  thus  been  brought  to  an 
acceptance  of  Unitarianism.  In  1890  were  begun  sys- 
tematic courses  of  lectures,  with  a  view  to  giving  edu- 
cated Japanese  inquirers  a  thorough  knowledge  of  mod- 
ern rehgious  ideas ;  and  these  grew  into  the  Senshin 
Gakuin,  or  School  of  Advanced  Learnmg,  a  theological 
school,  with  seven  professors,  and  an  annual  attend- 
ance of  thirty  or  forty  students,  nearly  all  of  whom  have 
been  graduates  of  colleges  and  universities.  Unliappily, 
the  failure  of  fuiancial  support  compelled  the  abandon- 
ment of  this   school  in  1898.     The  chief   educational 


308  UNITAKIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

woik,  however,  has  been  done  in  the  colleges  and  uni- 
versities, through  the  general  diffusion  of  hberal  rehg- 
ious  principles,  and  by  the  free  spirit  of  inquiry  char- 
acteristic of  all  educated  Japanese. 

The  success  of  the  Japanese  mission  is  chiefly  due  to 
Rev.  Clay  MacCauley,  who  gave  it  the  wise  direction 
and  the  organizing  skill  necessary  to  its  permanent 
growth.  It  is  a  noble  monument  to  his  devotion,  and 
to  his  imtiring  efforts  for  its  advancement.  His  little 
book  on  Christianity  in  History  is  very  popular,  both  in 
its  English  and  Japanese  versions;  and  thousands  of 
copies  are  annually  distributed. 

The  results  of  the  Japanese  mission  are  especially 
evident  in  a  general  liberalizing  of  reUgious  thought 
throughout  the  country  in  both  the  Buddhist  and 
Christian  communions,  and  in  the  wide-spread  approval 
shown  towards  its  methods  and  principles  among  the 
upper  and  student  classes.  Its  chief  gain,  however, 
consists  of  the  scholarly  and  influential  men  who  have 
accepted  the  Unitarian  faith,  and  given  it  their  zealous 
support.  Among  these  men  are  the  late  Hajime  Onishi, 
president  of  the  College  of  Literature  in  the  new  Im- 
perial University  at  Kyoto ;  Nobuta  Kishimoto,  pro- 
fessor of  ethics  in  the  Imperial  Normal  School ; 
Tomoyoshi  Murai,  professor  of  English  in  the  Foreign 
Languages  School  of  Japan ;  Iso  Abe,  professor  in  the 
Doshisha  University ;  Kinza  Hirai,  professor  in  the 
Imperial  Normal  School ;  Yoshiwo  Ogasawara,  who  is 
leading  an  extensive  work  of  social  and  moral  reform 
in  Wakayama ;  Saburo  Shimada,  proprietor  of  the 
Mainichi,  one  of  the  largest  daily  newspapers  of  the 
empire ;  and  Zennosuki  Toyosaki,  professor  in  the 
Kokumin    Eigakukwai,    and    associate    editor    of   the 


MISSIONS   TO   INDIA   AND  JAPAN  309 

Rikugo  Zasshi.*  These  men  are  educating  the  Jap- 
anese people  to  know  Christianity  in  its  rational 
forms ;  and  their  influence  is  being  rapidly  extended 
throughout  the  country.  In  their  hands  the  future  of 
liberal  religion  in  Japan  is  safe  ;  and  what  they  do  for 
their  own  people  is  more  certain  of  permanent  results 
than  anything  that  can  be  accomplished  by  foreigners. 
The  real  significance  of  the  Japanese  Unitarian  mission 
is  that  it  has  inaugurated  a  new  era  in  religious  propa- 
gandism ;  that  it  has  been  for  the  followers  of  the  reli- 
gious traditional  to  Japan,  as  well  as  for  those  of  the 
Christian  missions,  eminently  a  means  for  presenting 
them  with  the  world's  most  advanced  thought  in  re- 
ligion, and  that  it  has  been  a  stimulus  to  a  purer  faith 
and  a  larger  fellowship. 

*  The  Unitaxian  Movement  in  Japan :  Sketches  of  the  Lives  and  Re- 
ligious Work  of  Ten  Representative  Japanese.    Tokyo,  1900. 


XIV. 

THE    MEADVILLE  THEOLOGICAL    SCHOOL. 

In  a  few  years  after  the  movement  began  for  the  or- 
ganization of  churches  west  of  the  Hudson  River,  the 
needs  of  theological  instruction  for  residents  of  that 
region  were  being  discussed.  In  1827  the  younger 
Henry  Ware  was  interested  in  a  plan  of  uniting  Unita- 
rians and  "  the  Christian  connection  "  in  the  estabhsh- 
ment  of  a  theological  school,  to  be  located  in  the  east- 
ern part  of  the  state  of  New  York.  In  July  of  that 
year  he  wrote  to  a  friend :  "  We  have  had  no  little  talk 
here  within  a  few  days  respecting  a  new  theological 
school.  Many  of  us  think  favorably  of  the  plan,  and 
are  disposed  to  patronize  it,  if  feasible,  but  are  a  little 
fearful  tliat  it  is  not.  Others  start  strong  objections 
to  it  in  toto.  Something  must  be  done  to  gain  us  an 
increase  of  ministers."  *  This  proposition  came  from 
the  Christians,  and  their  plan  was  to  locate  the  school 
on  the  Hudson. 

Although  this  project  came  to  nothing  for  the  time 
being,  it  was  revived  a  decade  later.  When  the  Uni- 
tarian Association  had  entered  upon  its  active  mission- 
ary efforts  west  of  the  Alleghanies,  the  new  impulse  to 
denominational  life  manifested  itself  in  a  wide-spread 
desire  for  an  increase  in  the  number  of  workers  avail- 
able for  the  western  field.  The  establishment  of  a 
liberal  theological  school  in  that  region  was  felt  to  be 

*  Memoir  of  Henry  Ware,  Jr.,  202. 


MEADVILLE   THEOLOGICAL   SCHOOL  311 

almost  a  necessity,  if  the  opportunities  every wliere  open- 
ing there  for  the  dissemination  of  a  purer  faith  were  not 
to  be  neglected.  Plans  were  therefore  formed  about 
1836  for  the  founding  of  a  theological  school  at  Buffalo 
under  the  direction  of  Rev.  George  W.  Hosmer,  then 
the  minister  m  that  city ;  but,  business  becoming 
greatly  depressed  the  following  year,  the  project  was 
abandoned.  In  1840  the  importance  of  such  a  school 
was  again  causing  the  western  workers  to  plan  for  its 
establishment,  this  time  in  Cincinnati  or  Louisville ; 
but  tliis  expectation  also  failed  of  realization.  Then 
Rev.  William  G.  Eliot,  of  St.  Louis,  undertook  to  pro- 
vide a  theological  education  for  such  3'Oung  men  as 
might  apply  to  him.  But  the  response  to  his  offer  was 
so  slight  as  to  indicate  that  there  was  Uttle  demand  for 
such  instruction. 

The  demand  for  a  school  had  steadily  grown  since 
the  year  1827,  and  the  fit  occasion  only 

.  L  ®/\°°^°Ss  ^j^g  awaited  for  its  establishment.  It 
m  Meadville. 

was  found   at  Meadville,  Penn.,  in   the 

autumn  of  1844.  In  order  to  understand  wh}^  it  should 
have  been  founded  in  this  country  village  instead  of 
in  one  of  the  growing  and  prosperous  cities  of  the 
west,  it  is  necessary  to  give  a  brief  account  of  the  ori- 
gin and  growth  of  the  Meadville  church.  The  first 
Unitarian  church  organized  west  of  the  Alleghanies 
was  that  in  Meadville,  and  it  had  its  origin  in  the  re- 
ligious experiences  of  one  man.  The  founder  of  this 
church.  Harm  Jan  Huidekoper,  was  born  in  the  district 
of  Drenthe,  Holland,  at  the  village  of  Hogeveen,  in 
1776.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he  came  to  the  United 
States ;  and  in  1804  he  became  the  agent  of  the  Holland 
Land  Company  in  the  north-western  counties  of  Penn- 


812  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

sylvania,  and  established  himself  at  Meadville,  then  a 
small  village.  He  was  successful  in  his  land  opera- 
tions, and  was  largely  influential  in  the  development  of 
that  part  of  the  state.  When  his  children  were  of  an 
age  to  need  religious  instruction,  he  began  to  study  the 
Bible  with  a  view  to  deciding  what  he  could  conscien- 
tiously teach  them.  He  had  become  a  member  of  the 
Reformed  Church  in  his  native  land,  and  he  had  at- 
tended the  Presbyterian  church  in  Meadville ;  but  he 
now  desired  to  form  convictions  based  on  his  own  in- 
quiries. "When  I  had  become  a  father,"  he  wrote, 
"  and  saw  the  time  approacliing  when  I  should  have  to 
give  religious  instruction  to  my  children,  I  felt  it  to  be 
my  duty  to  give  this  subject  a  thorough  examination. 
I  accordingly  commenced  studying  the  Scriptures,  as 
being  the  only  safe  rule  of  the  Christian's  faith ;  and 
the  result  was,  that  I  soon  acquired  clear  and  definite 
views  as  to  the  leading  doctrines  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion. But  the  good  I  derived  from  these  studies  has 
not  been  confined  to  giving  me  clear  ideas  as  to  the 
Christian  doctrines.  They  created  in  me  a  strong  and 
constantly  increasing  interest  in  religion  itself,  not  as 
mere  theory,  but  as  a  practical  rule  of  life."  *     As  the 

*  J.  F.  Clarke,  Christian  Examiner,  September,  1854,  LVII.  310.  "  Mr. 
Huidekoper  had  the  satisfaction,  in  the  later  years  of  his  life,  of  seeing  a 
respectable  society  worshipping  in  the  tasteful  building  which  he  loved,  and 
of  witnessing  the  prosperity  of  the  theological  school  in  which  he  was  so 
much  interested.  We  have  never  known  any  one  who  seemed  to  live  so 
habitually  in  the  presence  of  God.  The  form  which  his  piety  mostly  took 
was  that  of  gratitude  and  reliance.  His  trust  in  the  Divine  goodness  was 
like  that  of  a  child  in  its  mother.  His  cheerful  views  of  this  life  and  of 
the  other,  his  simple  tastes,  his  enjoyment  of  nature,  his  happiness  in  so- 
ciety, his  love  for  children,  his  pleasure  in  doing  good,  his  tender  affection 
for  those  nearest  to  him, —  these  threw  a  warm  light  around  his  last  days, 
and  gave  his  home  the  aspect  of  a  perpetual  Sabbath.  A  well-balanced 
activity  of  faculties  contributed  stiU  more  to  his  usefulness  and  happineaa. 


MEADVILLE   THEOLOGICAL   SCHOOL  313 

result  of  this  study,  he  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that 
the  Bible  does  not  teach  the  doctrines  of  the  Trinity, 
the  total  depravity  of  man,  and  the  vicarious  atonement 
of  Christ.  Solely  from  the  careful  reading  of  the  Bible 
with  reference  to  each  of  the  leading  doctrines  he  had 
been  taught,  he  became  a  Unitarian. 

With  the  zeal  of  a  new  convert  Mr.  Huidekoper  began 
to  talk  about  his  new  faith,  and  he  brought  it  to  the 
attention  of  others  with  the  enthusiasm  of  a  propagan- 
dist. In  conversation,  by  means  of  the  distribution  of 
tracts,  and  with  the  aid  of  the  press  he  extended  the 
liberal  faith.  He  could  not  send  his  children  to  the 
church  he  had  attended,  and  he  therefore  secured  tutors 
for  them  from  Harvard  College  who  were  preparing  for 
the  ministry;  and  in  October,  1825,  one  of  these  tutors 
began  holding  Unitarian  services  in  Meadville.*  In 
May,  1829,  a  church  was  organized,  and  a  goodly  num- 
ber of  thoughtful  men  and  women  connected  themselves 
with  it.  But  this  movement  met  with  persistent  oppo- 
sition, and  a  vigorous  controversy  was  carried  on  in  the 
local  papers  and  by  means  of  pamphlets.  This  was  in- 
creased when,  in  1830,  Ephraim  Peabody,  afterwards 
settled  in  Cincinnati,  New  Bedford,  and  at  King's 
Chapel  in  Boston,  became  the  minister,  and  entered 
upon  an  active  effort  for  the  extension  of  Unitarianism. 
With  the  first  of  January,  1831,  he  began  the  publica- 
tion of  the    Unitarian   Essayist,  a  small  monthly  pam- 

He  was  always  a  student,  occupying  every  vacant  hour  with  a  book,  and  so 
had  attained  a  surprising  knowledge  of  biography  and  history."  Mr. 
Huidekoper  died  in  Meadville,  May  2'2,  1854. 

*  John  M.  Merrick,  afterwards  settled  in  Hardwick  and  Walpole,  Mass., 
who  was  in  Mr.  Huidekoper's  family  from  October,  1825,  to  October,  1827. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Andrew  P.  Peabody,  who  did  not  preach.  In  1828-30 
Washington  Gilbert,  who  had  settlements  in  Harvard,  Lincoln,  and  West 
Newton,  was  the  tutor  and  preacher. 


314  unitariaJiism  in  America 

phlet,  in  which  the  leading  theological  questions  were 
discussed.  In  a  few  months  Mr.  Peabody  went  to  Cin- 
cinnati ;  and  the  Essayist  was  continued  by  Mr.  Huide- 
koper,  who  wrote  with  vigor  and  directness  on  the  sub- 
jects he  had  carefully  studied. 

In  1831  the  church  for  the  first  time  secured  an  or- 
dained minister,  and  three  years  later  one  who  gave  his 
whole  time  to  its  service.*  A  church  buildmg  was 
erected  in  1836,  and  the  prosperity  of  the  congregation 
was  thereby  much  increased.  In  1843  a  minister  of  the 
Christian  connection.  Rev.  E.  G.  Holland,  became  the 
pastor  for  a  brief  period.  At  this  time  Frederic  Huide- 
koper,  a  son  of  the  founder  of  the  Unitarian  church  in 
Meadville,  had  returned  from  his  studies  in  the  Harvard 
Divinity  School  and  in  Europe,  and  was  ordained  in 
Meadville,  October  12, 1813.  It  was  his  purpose  to  be- 
come a  Unitarian  evangelist  in  the  region  about  Meadville, 
but  his  attention  was  soon  directed  by  Rev.  George  TV. 
Hosmer  to  the  importance  of  furnishing  theological  in- 
struction to  young  men  preparing  for  the  Unitarian 
ministr3^  He  was  encouraged  in  this  undertaking  by 
Mr.  Holland,  who  pointed  out  to  liim  the  large  patron- 
age that  might  be  expected  from  the  Christian  body. 
It  was  at  first  intended  that  Mr.  Huidekoper  should  give 
the  principal  instruction,  and  that  he  should  be  assisted 
by  the  pastor  of  the  Independent  Congregational  Church 
(Unitarian)  and  by  Mr.  Hosmer,  who  was  to  come  from 
Buffalo  for  a  few  weeks  each  year,  exchanging  pulpits 
with  the  Meadville  minister.  When  the  opening  of  the 
school  was  fixed  for  the  autumn  of  1844,  the  prospec- 
tive number  of  applicants  was  so  large  as  to  necessitate 

*  Rev.  George  Nichols,  July,  1831,  to  July,  1832 ;  Rev.  Alanson  Brigham, 
who  died  in  Meadville,  August  24,  1833 ;  Rev.  John  Quincy  Day,  October, 
1834,  to  September,  1837. 


MEADVILLE   THEOLOGICAL   SCHOOL  315 

a  modification  of  the  proposed  plan ;  and  it  was  deemed 
wise  to  secui'e  a  competent  person  to  preside  over  the 
school  and  to  become  the  minister  of  the  church. 
Through  the  active  co-operation  of  the  American  Uni- 
tarian Association,  Rev.  Rufus  P.  Stebbins,  then  settled 
at  Leominster,  Mass.,  was  secured  for  this  double  ser- 
vice. 

The  students  present  at  the  opening  of  the  school  on 
the  first  day  of  October,  1844,  were  but  five ;  but  this 
number  was  increased  to  nine  during  the  year.  The  next 
year  the  number  was  twenty-three,  nine  of  them  from 
New  England.  For  several  years  the  Christian  connection 
furnished  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  students,  and 
took  a  hvely  mterest  in  the  establishment  and  growth 
of  the  school,  although  contributing  little  or  nothing  to 
its  pecuniary  support.  It  was  also  represented  on  the 
board  of  instruction  by  a  non-resident  lecturer.  At  this 
time  the  Christian  body  had  no  theological  school  of  its 
own,  and  many  of  its  members  even  looked  with  dis- 
favor upon  all  ministerial  education.  What  brought 
them  into  some  degree  of  sympathy  with  Unitarians  of 
that  day  was  their  rejection  of  binding  creeds  and  their 
acceptance  of  Christian  character  as  the  only  test  of 
Christian  fellowship,  together  with  their  recognition  of 
the  Bible,  interpreted  by  every  man  for  himself,  as  the 
authoritative  standard  of  religious  truth.  The  churches 
of  this  denomination  in  the  northern  states  were  also 
pronounced  in  their  rejection  of  the  doctrines  of  the 
Trinity  and  predestination.  Unitarians  themselves  have 
not  been  more  strenuous  in  the  defence  of  the  principle 
of  religious  Hberty  than  were  the  leaders  among  the 
Christians  of  the  last  generation.  The  two  bodies  also 
joined  in  the  management  of  Antioch  College,  in  south- 


316  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

ern  Ohio ;  and  when  Horace  Mann  became  its  president, 
in  1852,  he  was  made  a  minister  of  the  Christian  con- 
nection, in  order  that  he  might  work  more  effectually  in 
the  promotion  of  its  interests. 

The  Meadville  school  began  its  work  in  a  simple  way, 
with  few  instructors  and  a  limited  course  of  study. 
Mr.  Stebbins  taught  the  Old  Testament,  Hebrew,  Bibli- 
cal antiquities,  natural  and  revealed  religion,  mental  and 
moral  philosophy,  systematic  theology,  and  pulpit  elo- 
quence. Mr.  Huidekoper  gave  instruction  in  the  New 
Testament,  hermeneutics,  ecclesiastical  liistory,  Latin, 
Greek,  and  German.  Mr.  Hosmer  lectured  on  pastoral 
care  for  a  brief  period  during  each  year.  A  building 
for  the  school  was  provided  by  the  generosity  of  the 
elder  Huidekoper ;  and  the  expenses  of  board,  instruc- 
tion, rent,  fuel,  etc.,  were  reduced  to  $30  per  annum. 
Many  of  the  students  had  received  little  education,  and 
they  needed  a  preliminary  training  in  the  most  primary 
studies.  Nevertheless,  the  school  at  once  justified  its 
establishment,  and  sent  out  many  capable  men,  even 
from  among  those  who  came  to  it  with  the  least  prepara- 
tion. 

Dr.  Stebbins  was  president  of  the  school  for  ten  years. 
During  his  term  of  service  the  school  was  incorporated 
by  the  legislature  of  Pennsylvania  in  the  spring  of  1846. 
The  charter  was  carefully  drawn  with  a  view  to  securing 
freedom  in  its  administration.  No  denominational  name 
appeared  in  the  act  of  incorporation,  and  the  original 
board  of  trustees  included  Christians  as  well  as  Unita- 
rians. Dr.  Stebbins  was  an  admirable  man  to  whom  to 
intrust  the  organization  of  the  school,  for  he  was  a  born 
teacher  and  a  masterful  administrator.  He  was  prompt, 
decisive,  a  great  worker,  a  powerful  preacher,  an  inspirer 


MEADVILLE    THEOLOGICAL   SCHOOL  317 

of  others,  and  his  students  warmly  admired  and  praised 
him. 

The  next  president  of  the  school  was  Oliver  Stearns, 
who  held  the  office  from  1856  to  1863. 

xu    o  u    ,         He  was  a  student,  a  true  and  iust  thinker, 
the  School.  '  ... 

of  great  moral  earnestness,  fine  discrimina- 
tion, and  with  a  gift  for  academic  organization.  He  was 
a  man  of  a  strong  and  deep  personality,  and  hig  spiritual 
influence  was  profound.  He  had  been  settled  at  North- 
ampton and  over  the  third  parish  in  Hingham  before 
entering  upon  his  work  at  Meadville.  In  1863  he  went 
to  the  Harvard  Divinity  School  as  the  professor  of  pul- 
pit eloquence  and  pastoral  care  until  1869,  when  he 
became  the  professor  of  theology;  and  from  1870  to 
1878  he  was  the  dean  of  the  school.  He  was  a  preacher 
who  "  held  and  deserved  a  reputation  among  the  fore- 
most," for  his  preaching  was  "  pre-eminently  spiritual." 
"In  his  relations  to  the  divinity  schools  that  enjoyed 
his  services,  it  is  impossible  to  over-estimate  the  extent, 
accuracy,  and  thorouglmess  of  his  scholarship,  and  his 
unwearying  devotion  to  his  work."  * 

During  Dr.  Stearns's  administration  the  small  build- 
ing originally  occupied  by  the  school  was  outgrown ; 
and  Divinity  Hall  was  built  on  land  east  of  the  town, 
donated  by  Professor  Frederic  Huidekoper,  and  first  oc- 
cupied in  1861.  In  1857  began  a  movement  to  elevate 
the  standard  of  admission  to  the  school,  in  order  that  its 
work  might  be  of  a  more  advanced  character.  To  meet 
the  needs  of  those  not  able  to  accept  this  higher  stand- 
ard, a  preparatory  department  was  established  in  1858, 
which  was  continued  until  1867. 

Rev.  Abiel  A.  Livermore  became  the  president  of  the 

*  A.  P.  Peabody,  Harvard  Reminiscences,  1G5,  106. 


318  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

school  in  1863,  and  he  remained  in  that  position  until 
1890.  He  had  been  settled  in  Keene,  Cincinnati,  and 
Yonkers  before  going  to  Meadville.  He  was  a  Chris- 
tian of  the  finest  type,  a  true  gentleman,  and  a  noble 
friend.  Under  his  direction  the  school  grew  in  all  di- 
rections, the  course  of  study  being  largely  enriched  by 
the  addition  of  new  departments.  In  1863  church  pol- 
ity and  administration,  including  a  study  of  the  sects  of 
Christendom,  was  made  a  special  department.  In  1868 
the  school  opened  its  doors  to  women,  and  it  has  re- 
ceived about  tliirty  women  for  a  longer  or  shorter  term 
of  study.  In  1872  the  academic  degree  of  Bachelor  of 
Divinity  was  offered  for  the  first  time  to  those  complet- 
ing the  full  course.  In  1879  the  philosophy  of  religion, 
and  also  the  comparative  study  of  religions,  received  the 
recognition  they  deserve.  The  same  year  ecclesiastical 
jurisprudence  became  a  special  department.  In  1882 
Rev.  E.  E.  Hale  lectured  on  charities,  and  from  that 
time  this  subject  has  been  systematically  treated  in  con- 
nection with  philanthropies.  A  movement  was  begun  in 
1889  to  endow  a  professorship  in  memory  of  Dr.  James 
Freeman  Clarke,  which  was  successful.  These  succes- 
sive steps  indicate  the  progress  made  imder  the  faithful 
administration  of  Dr.  Livermore.  He  became  widely 
known  to  Unitarians  by  his  commentaries  on  the  books 
of  the  New  Testament,  as  well  as  by  his  other  writings, 
including  volumes  of  sermons  and  lectures. 

In  1890  George  L.  Cary,  who  had  been  for  many 
years  the  professor  of  New  Testament  literature,  be- 
came the  president  of  the  school,  a  position  he  held  for 
ten  years.  Under  his  leadership  the  school  has  largely 
advanced  its  standard  of  scholarship,  outgrown  studies 
have  been  discarded,  while  new  ones  have  been  added. 


MEADVILLE   THEOLOGICAL   SCHOOL  319 

New  professorships  and  lectureships  have  been  estab- 
lished, and  the  endowment  of  the  school  has  been 
greatly  increased.  Huidekoper  Hall,  for  tlie  use  of  the 
library,  was  erected  in  1890,  and  other  important  improve- 
ments have  been  added  to  the  equipment  of  the  school. 
In  1892  the  Adin  Ballou  lectureship  of  practical  Chris- 
tian sociology  was  established,  and  in  1895  the  Hackley 
professorship  of  sociology  and  ethics. 

From  the  time  of  its  establishment  the  Huidekoper 
family  have  been  devoted  friends  and  benefactors  of  the 
Theological  School.*  Frederic  Huidekoper  occupied 
the  chair  of  New  Testament  literature  from  1844 
to  1855,  and  from  1863  to  1877  that  of  ecclesi- 
astical history.  His  services  were  given  wholly  with- 
out remuneration,  and  his  benefactions  to  the  school 
were  numerous.  He  also  added  largely  to  the 
Brookes  Fund  for  the  distribution  of  Unitarian  books. 
His  historical  writings  made  him  widely  known  to  schol- 
ars, and  added  to  the  reputation  of  the  school.  His  Be- 
lief of  the  First  Three  Centuries  concerning  Christ's 
Mission  to  the  Underworld  appeared  in  1853 ;  Judaism 
at  Rome,  1876 ;  and  Indirect  Testimony  of  History  to 
the  Genuineness  of  the  Gospels,  1879.  He  also  re- 
published at  his  own  expense  many  valuable  works  that 
were  out  of  print. 

Among  the  other  professors  have  been  Rev.  Nathan- 
iel S.  Folsom,  who  was  in  charge  of  the  department  of 
Biblical  literature  from  1848  to  1861.  Of  the  regular 
lecturers  have  been  Rev.   Charles  H.   Brigham,   Rev. 

*  The  first  treasurer  of  the  school  was  Edgar  Huidekoper,  who  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Professor  F.  Huidekoper,  and  he  in  turn  by  Edgar  Huidekoper, 
the  son  of  the  first  treasurer.  Among  the  other  generous  friends  and  bene- 
factors of  the  school  have  been  Alfred  Huidekoper,  Miss  Elizabeth  Huide- 
koper, and  Mrs.  Henry  P.  Kidder. 


320  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

Amory  D.  Mayo,  and  Dr.  Thomas  Hill.  There  has 
been  an  intimate  relation  between  the  Meadville  church 
and  the  Theological  School,  and  several  of  the  pastors 
have  been  instructors  and  lecturers  in  the  Theolosrical 
School,  including  Rev.  J.  C.  Zachos,  Rev.  James  T. 
Bixby,  and  Rev.  James  M.  Whiton.  The  Christian  de- 
nomination has  been  represented  among  the  lecturers  by 
Rev.  David  Millard  and  Rev.  Austin  Craig. 

The  whole  number  of  graduates  of  the  Meadville 
Theological  School  up  to  April,  1902,  has  been  267; 
and  eighty  other  students  have  entered  the  ministry. 
At  the  present  time  156  of  its  students  are  on  the  roll 
of  Unitarian  ministers.  Thirty-two  of  its  students 
served  in  the  civil  war,  twenty  per  cent,  of  its  gradu- 
ates previous  to  the  close  of  the  war  being  engaged  in 
it  as  privates,  chaplains,  or  in  some  other  capacity. 
The  endowment  of  the  school  has  steadily  increased 
until  it  now  is  somewhat  more  than  $600,000. 


XV. 

UNITARIAN    PHILANTHROPIES. 

The  liberal  movement  in  religion  was  characterized 
in  its  early  period  by  its  humanitarianism.  As  theology 
grew  less  important  for  it,  there  was  an  increase  in  its 
philanthropy.  With  the  waning  of  the  sectarian  spirit 
there  was  a  growth  in  desire  for  practical  reforms.  The 
awakened  interest  in  man  and  enlarged  faith  in  his 
spiritual  capacities  showed  itself  in  efforts  to  improve 
his  social  condition.  No  one  expressed  this  tendency 
more  perfectly  than  Dr.  C banning,  though  he  was  a 
spiritual  teacher  rather  than  a  reformer  or  philantlu-opist. 

Any  statement  concerning  the  charities  in  connection 
with  which  Channing  was  active  will  give  the  most  inad- 
equate idea  of  his  actual  influence  in  this  direction.  He 
was  greatly  interested  in  promoting  the  circulation  of 
the  Bible,  in  aiding  the  cause  of  temperance,  and  in 
bringing  freedom  to  the  slave.  His  biographer  says 
that  his  thoughts  were  continually  becoming  concen- 
trated more  and  more  upon  the  terrible  problem  of  pau- 
perism, "  and  he  saw  more  clearly  each  year  that  what 
the  times  demanded  was  that  the  axe  should  be  laid  at 
the  very  root  of  ignorance,  temptation  and  strife  by  sub- 
stituting for  the  present  unjust  and  unequal  distribution 
of  the  privileges  of  life  some  system  of  cordial,  respect- 
ful, brotherly  co-operation."  *  His  interest  in  educa- 
tion was  most  comprehensive,  and  he   sought  its  ad- 

*  Memoir,  III.  17 ;  one-volume  edition,  465. 


322  UNITABIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

vancement  in  all  directions  with  the  confident  faith 
that  it  would  help  to  uplift  all  classes  and  make  them 
more  truly  human.* 

The  liberals  of  New  England,  in  the  early  years  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  were  not  mere  theor- 
cT  *r^°  izers  in  regard  to  human  helpfulness  and  the 
application  of  Christianity  to  life ;  for  they  en- 
deavored to  realize  the  spirit  of  charity  and  service. 
Largely  under  their  leadership  the  Massachusetts  Bible 
Society  was  organized  in  1809.  A  more  distinctly 
charitable  undertaking  was  the  Fragment  Society,  or- 
ganized in  1812  to  help  the  poor  by  the  distribution  of 
garments,  the  lending  of  bedding  to  the  sick  and  clothes 
to  children  in  charity  schools,  as  well  as  the  providing 
of  such  children  with  shoes.  This  society  also  imder- 
took  to  provide  Bibles  for  the  poor  who  had  none. 
Under  the  leadersliip  of  Rev.  Joseph  Tuckerman,  then 
settled  in  Chelsea,  there  was  organized,  May  11,  1812, 
the  Boston  Society  for  the  Religious  and  Moral  Im- 
provement of  Seamen,  "  to  distribute  tracts  of  a  rehg- 
ious  and  moral  kind  for  the  use  of  seamen,  and  to 
establish  a  regular  divine  service  on  board  of  our  mer- 
chant vessels."  In  1813  the  Massachusetts  Society  for 
the  Suppression  of  Intemperance,  in  1815  the  Massa- 
chusetts Peace  Society,  and  at  about  the  same  time  the 
Society  for  the  Employment  of  the  Poor  came  into 
existence. 

Of  the  early  Unitarians  Rev.  Octavius  B.  Frothing- 
ham  justly  said :  "  They  all  had  a  genuine  desbe  to  ren- 
der the  earthly  lot  of  mankind  tolerable.  It  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that  they  started  every  one  of  our  best 
secular  charities.     The  town  of  Boston  had  a  poor-house, 

*  Memoir,  III.  61,  G2 ;  one-volume  edition,  487,  488. 


UNITARIAN   PHILANTHROPIES  323 

and  nothing  more  until  the  Unitarians  initiated  humane 
institutions  for  the  helpless,  the  blind,  the  insane.  The 
Massachusetts  General  Hospital  (1811),  the  McLean 
Asylum  for  the  Insane  (1818),  the  Perkins  Blind  Asy- 
lum (1832),  the  Female  Oi-phan  Asylum  (1800),  were 
of  their  devising."  *  What  this  work  meant  was  well 
stated  by  Dr.  Andrew  P.  Peabody,  when  he  said  there 
was  "probably  no  city  in  the  world  where  there  had 
been  more  ample  provision  for  the  poor  than  in  Boston, 
whether  by  private  alms-giving,  benevolent  organiza- 
tions, or  public  institutions."  f  Nor  was  this  altru- 
istic spirit  manifested  alone  in  Boston,  for  Mr.  Froth- 
ingham  quotes  the  saying  of  a  lady  to  Dr.  E.  E.  Hale : 
"A  Unitarian  church  to  you  merely  means  one  more 
name  on  your  calendar.  To  the  people  in  this  town 
it  means  better  books,  better  music,  better  sewerage, 
better  health,  better  life,  less  drunkenness,  more  purity, 
and  better  government."  J  The  Unitarian  conception 
of  the  relations  of  altruism  and  religion  was  pertinently 
stated  by  Dr.  J.  T.  Kirkland,  president  of  Harvard  Col- 
lege during  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth  centuiy, 
when  he  said  that  "  we  have  as  much  piety  as  charity, 
and  no  more."  §  One  who  knew  intimately  of  the  work 
of  the  ministry  at  large  has  truly  said  of  the  labors  of  Dr. 
Tuckerman :  "  From  the  beginning  he  had  the  moral  and 
pecuniary  support  of  the  leaders  of  life  in  Boston ;  her 
first  merchants  and  her  statesmen  were  watching  these 
experiments  with  a  curious  interest,  and  although  he 
was  often  so  radical  as  to  startle  the  most  conservative 
notions  of  men  engaged  in  trade,  or  learned  in  the  old- 

*  Boston  Unitarianism,  127.  t  Harvard  Graduates,  155. 

t  Boston  Unitarianism,  253. 

§  Elizabeth  P.  Peabody,  Reminiscences  of  Dr.  W.  E.  Channing,  290. 


324  UNITAIIIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

fashioned  science  of  government,  tliere  was  that  in  the 
persistence  of  his  life  and  the  accuracy  of  his  method 
which  engaged  their  support."  * 

Another  instance  of  Unitarian  philanthropy  is  to  be 
found  in  the  support  given  to  Rev.  Edward  T.  Taylor, 
usually  known  as  "Father  Taylor,"  in  his  work  for 
sailors.  When  he  went  to  Boston  in  1829  to  begin  his 
mission,  the  first  person  he  visited  was  Dr.  Channing, 
and  the  second  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  then  a  settled 
pastor  in  the  city.  Both  of  these  men  made  generous 
contributions  to  liis  mission,  and  aided  him  in  securing 
the  attention  of  wealthy  contributors.!  In  fact,  his 
Bethel  was  almost  whoUy  supported  by  Unitarians. 
For  thu'ty  years  Mr.  Albert  Fearing  was  the  president 
of  the  Boston  Port  Society,  organized  for  the  support 
of  Taylor's  Seamen's  Bethel.  The  corresponding  secre- 
tary was  Mr.  Henry  Parker.  Among  other  Unitarian 
supporters  of  this  work  was  Hon.  Jolm  A.  Andrew.^ 

We  have  no  right  to  assume  that  the  Unitarians 
alone  were  philanthropic,  but  they  had  the  wealth  and 
the  social  position  to  make  their  efforts  in  tliis  direc- 
tion thoroughly  effective. §  That  the  results  were  benefi- 
cent may  be  understood  from  the  testimony  of  Mrs. 
Horace  Maun.  "  The  liberal  sects  of  Boston,"  she 
^Vl■ote  to  a  friend,  "  quite  carried  the  day  at  that  time 
in  works  of  benevolence  and  Christian  charity.  They 
took  care  of  the  needy  without  regard  to  sectarianism. 
Such  women  as  Helen  Loring  and  Elizabeth  Howard, 
(Mrs.  Cyrus  A.  Bartol),  Dorothea  Dix,  Mary  Pritchard 

*  Eber  R.  Butler,  Lend  a  Hand,  October,  1890,  V.  681. 
t  Elizabeth  P.  Peabody,  Reminiscences  of  W.  E.  Channing,  273. 
J  Gilbert  Haven,  Anecdotes  of  Rev.  Edward  T.  Taylor,  114. 
§  Ibid.,  119. 


UNITARIAN    PHILANTHROPIES  325 

(Mrs.  Henry  Ware),  and  many  others  less  known  to  the 
world,  but  equally  devoted  to  the  work,  with  many 
youthful  coadjutors,  took  care  of  the  poor  wonder- 
fully." *  After  spending  several  weeks  in  Boston  in 
1842,  and  giving  careful  attention  to  the  charities  and 
philanthropies  of  the  city,  Charles  Dickens  wrote :  "  I 
sincerely  believe  that  the  public  institutions  and  chari- 
ties of  this  capital  of  Massachusetts  are  as  nearly 
perfect  as  the  most  considerate  wisdom,  benevolence, 
humanity,  can  make  them.  I  never  in  my  Hfe  was 
more  affected  by  the  contemplation  of  happiness,  under 
circumstances  of  privation  and  bereavement,  than  in 
my  visits  to  these  establishments."  f 

The  pioneer  in  the  work  of  educating  the  blind  and 
the  deaf  was  Dr.  Samuel  G.  Howe,  who  had 

x.."^^-^*l°°  been  one  of  those  who  in  1824  went  to 
the  Blind. 

Greece  to  aid  in  the  establishment  of  Greek 
independence.  On  his  return,  in  1832,  he  became  ac- 
quainted with  European  methods  of  teaching  the  bhnd  ; 
and  in  that  year  he  opened  the  Massachusetts  School 
and  Asylum  for  the  Bhnd,  "  the  pioneer  of  such  es- 
tabhshments  in  America,  and  the  most  illustrious  of 
its  class  in  the  world."  ij:  In  his  father's  house  in 
Pleasant  Street,  Dr.  Howe  began  his  school  with  a  few 
pupils,  prepared  books  for  them,  and  then  set  about  rais- 
ing money  to  secure  larger  facilities.  Colonel  Thomas 
H.  Perkins,  of  Boston,  gave  his  house  in  Pearl  Street, 
valued  at  $50,000,  on  condition  that  a  like  sum  should 
be  contributed  for  the  maintenance  of  the  school.  In 
six  weeks  the  desired  sum  was  secured,  and  the  school 

*  Gilbert  Haven,  Anecdotes  of  Rev.  Edward  T.  Taylor,  330. 

t  American  Notes,  chap.  iii. 

J  Frank  B.  Sanborn,  Pio;ri  i-.bv  of  Di-.  S.  G.  Howe,  Philanthropist,  110. 


326  UNITAEIANISM    IN    AMEKICA 

was  afterwards  known  as  the  Perkins  Institution  for 
the  Blind.  Dr.  Howe  addressed  seventeen  state  legis- 
latures on  the  education  of  the  blind,  with  the  result  of 
estabhshing  schools  similar  to  his  own.  His  arduous 
task,  however,  was  that  of  providing  the  blind  with 
books ;  and  he  used  his  great  inventive  skill  in  perfect- 
ing the  necessary  methods.  He  succeeded  in  making 
it  comparatively  easy  to  print  books  for  the  bUnd,  and 
therefore  made  it  possible  to  have  a  library  of  such 
works. 

In  the  autumn  of  1837  Dr.  Howe  discovered  Laura 
Bridgman,  who  had  only  the  one  sense  of  touch  re- 
maining in  a  normal  condition;  and  his  remarkable 
success  in  her  education  made  him  famous.  In  con- 
nection with  her  and  other  pupils  he  began  the  process 
of  teaching  the  deaf  to  use  articulate  speech,  and  all 
who  have  followed  him  in  this  work  have  but  extended 
and  perfected  his  methods.  While  teaching  the  blind 
and  deaf,  Dr.  Howe  found  those  who  were  idiotic ;  and 
he  began  to  study  this  class  of  persons  about  1840,  and 
to  devise  methods  for  their  education.  As  a  member 
of  the  Massachusetts  legislature  in  1846,  he  secured 
the  appointment  of  a  commission  to  investigate  the 
condition  of  the  idiotic ;  and  for  this  commission  he 
wrote  the  report.  In  1847,  the  state  having  made  an 
appropriation  for  the  teaching  of  idiotic  children,  ten 
of  them  were  taught  at  the  BHnd  Asylum  under  the 
care  of  Dr.  Howe.  In  1851  a  separate  school  was 
provided  for  such  children. 

Dr.  Howe  was  called  "the  Massachusetts  philan- 
thropist," but  his  philanthropy  was  universal  in  its 
humanitarian  aims.  He  gave  large  and  faithful  atten- 
tion, in  1845  and   later,  to  prisons  and  prisoners;    he 


UNITARIAN    PHILANTHROPIES  327 

was  a  zealous  friend  of  the  slave  and  the  freedman; 
and  in  1864  he  devoted  arduous  service  to  the  reform 
of  the  state  charities  of  Massachusetts.  His  biographer 
justly  says  of  his  spirit  of  universal  philanthropy :  "  He 
joined  in  the  movement  in  Boston  which  abolished 
imprisonment  for  debt;  he  was  an  early  and  active 
member  of  the  Boston  Prison  DiscipHne  Society,  which 
once  did  much  service ;  and  for  years,  when  interest  in 
prison  reform  was  at  a  low  ebb  in  Massachusetts,  the 
one  forlorn  rehct  of  that  once  powerful  organization,  a 
Prisoner's  Aid  Society,  used  to  hold  its  meetings  in 
Dr.  Howe's  spacious  chamber  in  Bromfield  Street.  He 
took  an  early  interest  in  the  care  of  the  insane,  with 
which  his  friends  Horace  Mann,  Dr.  Edward  Jarvis, 
and  Dorothea  Dix  were  greatly  occupied ;  and  in  later 
years  he  introduced  some  most  useful  methods  of 
caring  for  the  insane  in  Massachusetts.  He  favored 
the  temperance  reform,  and  wrote  much  as  a  physician 
on  the  harm  done  to  individuals  and  to  the  human 
stock  by  the  use  of  alcoholic  liquors.  He  stood  with 
Father  Taylor  of  the  Seamen's  Bethel  in  Boston  for  the 
salvation  of  the  sailors  and  their  protection  from  cruel 
punishments,  and  he  was  one  of  those  who  almost 
abolished  the  flogging  of  children  in  schools.  During 
his  whole  career  as  a  reformer  of  pubhc  schools  in  New 
England,  Horace  Mann  had  no  friend  more  intimate  or 
more  helpful  than  Dr.  Howe,  nor  one  whose  support 
was  more  indispensable  to  Mann  himself."  * 

Dr.  Howe  was  an  attendant  upon  the  preaching  of 
Theodore  Parker,  and  was  his  intimate  friend.  In  after 
years  he  was  a  member  of  the  congregation  of  James 
Freeman  Clarke  at  the  Church  of  the  Disciples.    "After 

*  Frank  B.  Sanborn,  Biopraphy  of  Dr.  S.  G.  Howe,  Philanthropist,  170. 


328  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

our  return  to  America,"  says  Mrs.  Howe  of  the  year 

1844,  "  my  husband  went  often  to  the  Melodeon,  where 

Parker  preached  until  he  took  possession  of  the  Music 

Hall.     The  interest  which  my  husband  showed  m  these 

services  led  me  in  time  to  attend  them,  and  I  remember 

as  among  the  great  opportunities  of  my  life  the  years  in 

which  I  listened  to  Theodore  Parker."  * 

Another  among  the  many  persons  who  came  under 

the  influence  of  Dr.  Chamimg  was  Dorothea 

Care  0  ^-^  who,  as  a  teacher  of  liis  children,  lived 

the  Insane.  .,.„.,  i         •         i 

for  many  months  in  his  family  and  enjoyed 

his  intimate  friendship.  Her  biographer  says:  "She 
had  drmik  in  with  passionate  faith  Dr.  Channing's 
fervid  insistence  on  the  presence  m  human  nature,  even 
under  its  most  degraded  types,  of  germs,  at  least,  of  end- 
less spiritual  development.  But  it  was  the  characteristic 
of  her  own  mind  that  it  tended  not  to  protracted  spec- 
ulation, but  to  immediate,  embodied  action."  f  Her 
work  for  the  insane  was  the  expression  of  the  deep 
faith  in  humanity  she  had  been  taught  by  Channing. 

When  she  entered  upon  her  humanitarian  efforts,  but 
few  hospitals  for  the  insane  existed  in  the  country.  A 
notable  exception  was  the  McLean  Asylum  at  Somer- 
ville,  which  had  been  built  as  the  result  of  that  same 
philanthropic  spirit  that  had  led  the  Unitarians  to  estab- 
lish the  many  charities  already  mentioned  in  these 
pages.  In  March,  1841,  Miss  Dix  visited  the  House  of 
Correction  in  East  Cambridge  ;  and  for  the  wretched 
condition  of  the  inmates  she  at  once  set  to  work  to  pro- 
vide remedies.  Then  she  visited  the  jails  and  alms- 
houses in   many  parts   of  the   state,  and  presented    a 

*  Reminiscences,  161. 

t  Francis  Tiffany,  Life  of  Dorothea  Lynde  Dix,  58. 


UNITAKIAN   PHILANTHROPIES  329 

memorial  to  the  legislature  recounting  what  she  had 
found  and  asking  for  reforms.  She  was  met  by  bitter 
opposition ;  but  such  persons  as  Samuel  G.  Howe,  Dr. 
Channing,  Horace  Mann,  and  John  G.  Palfrey  came  to 
her  aid.  The  bill  providing  for  relief  to  the  insane 
came  into  the  hands  of  a  committee  of.  which  Di-.  Howe 
was  the  chairman,  and  he  energetically  pushed  it  for- 
ward to  enactment.  Thus  Miss  Dix  began  her  crusade 
against  an  enormous  evil. 

In  1845  Miss  Dix  reported  that  in  three  years  she 
had  travelled  ten  thousand  miles,  visited  eighteen  state 
penitentiaries,  three  hundred  jails  and  houses  of  correc- 
tion, and  five  hmidred  almshouses  and  other  institu- 
tions, secured  the  estabhshment  or  enlargement  of  six 
hospitals  for  the  insane,  several  county  poorhouses,  and 
several  jails  on  a  reformed  plan.  She  visited  every 
state  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  also  the  British 
Pro-vinces,  to  secure  legislation  in  behalf  of  the  insane. 
She  secured  the  erection  of  hospitals  or  other  reforma- 
tory action  in  Rhode  Island,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania, 
Indiana,  Illmois,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Missouri,  Mis- 
sissippi, Louisiana,  Alabama,  South  Carolina,  Nova  Sco- 
tia, and  Newfoundland.  Her  labors  also  secured  the  es- 
tabhshment of  a  hospital  for  the  insane  of  the  army  and 
navy,  near  Washington.  All  this  was  the  work  of  nine 
years. 

In  1853  Miss  Dix  gave  her  attention  to  providing  an 
adequate  life-saving  equipment  for  Sable  Island,  one  of 
the  most  dangerous  places  to  seamen  on  the  Atlantic 
coast ;  and  this  became  the  means  of  saving  many  lives. 
In  1854  she  went  to  England  for  needed  rest ;  but  almost 
at  once  she  took  up  her  humanitarian  work,  this  time  in 
Scotland,  where  she  secured  a  commission  of  inquiry, 


330  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

which  in  1857  resulted  in  reformatory  legislation  on 
the  part  of  Parliament.  In  1855  she  visited  the  island 
of  Jersey,  and  secured  great  improvements  in  the  care  of 
the  insane.  Later  in  that  year  she  visited  Switzerland 
for  rest,  but  in  a  few  weeks  was  studying  the  cliarities 
of  Paris  and  then  those  of  Italy.  In  Rome  she  had  two 
interviews  with  the  pope,  and  the  erection  of  a  new 
hospital  for  the  insane  on  modern  principles  resulted. 
Speaking  only  English,  and  without  letters  of  introduc- 
tion, she  visited  the  insane  hospitals  and  the  prisons  of 
Greece,  Turkey,  Austria,  Sclavonia,  Russia,  Germany, 
Sweden,  Norway,  Denmark,  Holland,  and  Belgium. 
"Day  by  day  she  patiently  explored  the  asylums, 
prisons,  and  poor-houses  of  every  place  in  which  she 
set  her  foot,  glad  to  her  heart's  core  when  she  found 
anything  to  commend  and  learn  a  lesson  from,  and  pa- 
tiently striving,  where  she  struck  the  traces  of  igno- 
rance, neglect,  or  wrong,  to  right  the  evil  by  direct 
appeal  to  the  highest  authorities." 

On  her  return  home,  in  September,  1856,  she  was  met 
by  many  urgent  appeals  for  help  in  enlarging  hospitals 
and  erecting  new  ones ;  and  she  devoted  her  time  until 
the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  in  work  for  the  insane  in 
the  southern  and  middle  north-western  states.  As  soon 
as  the  troops  were  ordered  to  Washington,  she  went 
there  and  offered  her  services  as  a  nurse,  and  was  at 
once  appointed  superintendent  of  women  nurses  for 
the  whole  army.  She  carried  through  the  tasks  of  this 
office  with  energy  and  devotion.  In  1866  she  secured 
the  erection  of  a  monument  to  the  fallen  soldiers  in  the 
National  Cemetery,  at  Hampton. 

Then  she  returned  at  once  to  her  work  in  asylums, 
poorhouses,  and  prisons,  continmng  this  task  until  past 


UNITARIAN    PHILANTHROPIES  331 

her  seventy-fifth  year.  "  Her  frequent  visits  to  our  in- 
stitutions of  the  insane  now,  and  her  searching  criti- 
cisms," wrote  a  leading  alienist,  "  constitute  of  them- 
selves a  better  lunacy  commission  than  would  be  likely 
to  be  appointed  in  many  of  our  states."  *  The  last  five 
years  of  her  life  were  spent  as  a  guest  in  the  New  Jersey 
State  Asylum  at  Trenton,  it  being  fit  that  one  of  the 
thirty-two  hospitals  she  had  been  the  means  of  erecting 
should  afford  her  a  home  for  her  decKning  years. 

Miss  Dix  was  called  by  many  "  our  Lady,"  "  our  Pa- 
tron Saint "  ;  and  well  she  deserved  these  expressions  of 
reverence.  President  Fillmore  said  in  a  letter  to  her, 
"Wealth  and  power  never  reared  such  monuments  to 
selfish  pride  as  you  have  reared  to  the  love  of  mankind." 
She  had  the  unreserved  consecration  to  the  needs  of  the 
poor  and  suffering  that  caused  her  to  write  :  "  If  I  am 
cold,  they  are  cold ;  if  I  am  weary,  they  are  distressed ; 
if  I  am  alone,  they  are  abandoned."  f  Her  biographer 
justly  compares  her  with  the  greatest  of  the  saints,  and 
says,  "Precisely  the  same  characteristics  marked  her, 
the  same  absolute  religious  consecration,  the  same  heroic 
readiness  to  trample  under  foot  the  pains  of  illness, 
loneUness,  and  opposition,  the  same  intellectual  grasp  of 
what  a  great  reformatory  work  demanded."  J  Truly 
was  it  said  of  her  that  she  was  "  the  most  useful  and 
distinguished  woman  America  has  produced."  § 

As  was  justly  said  by  Professor  Francis  G.  Peabody, 
"the  Boston  Children's  Mission  was  the 
MissioM^^°  du-ect  fruit  of  the  ministry  of  Dr.  Tucker- 
man,  and  antedates  all  other  conspicuous 
undertakings  of  the  same  nature.    The  first  president  of 

*  Francis  Tiffany,  Life  of  Dorothea  Lynde  Dix,  355.         t  Ibid.,  327. 
Jlbid.,  290.  §  Ibid.,  375. 


332  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

the  Children's  Mission,  John  E.  Williams,  a  Unitarian 
layman,  moved  later  to  New  York,  and  became  the  first 
treasurer  of  the  newly  created  Children's  Aid  Society  of 
that  city,  formed  in  1853.  Tlius  the  work  of  the  Chil- 
dren's Mission  and  the  kindred  service  of  the  Warren 
Street  Chapel,  under  tlie  leadership  of  Charles  Barnard, 
must  be  reckoned  as  the  most  immediate,  if  not  the  only 
American  antecedent,  of  the  great  modern  works  of 
child-saving  charity."  * 

The  Children's  Mission  to  the  Children  of  the  Desti- 
tute grew  out  of  the  work  of  the  Howard  Sunday-school, 
then  connected  with  the  Pitts  Street  Chapel.  When  sev- 
eral men  connected  with  that  school  were  discussing  the 
fact  that  a  great  number  of  vagrant  children  were  dealt 
vdth  by  the  police,  Fanny  S.  Merrill  said  to  her  father, 
Mr.  George  Merrill,  "  Father,  can't  we  children  do 
something  to  help  those  poor  little  ones  ?  "  This  ques- 
tion suggested  a  new  field  of  work ;  and  a  meeting  was 
held  on  April  27,  1849,  under  the  auspices  of  Rev. 
Robert  C.  Waterston,  to  consider  this  proposition.  On 
May  9  the  society  was  organized  "  to  create  a  special 
mission  to  the  poor,  ignorant,  neglected  children  of  this 
city ;  to  gather  them  into  day  and  Sunday  schools ;  to 
procure  places  and  employment  for  them ;  and  gener- 
ally to  adopt  and  pursue  such  measures  as  would  be 
most  likely  to  save  or  rescue  them  from  vice,  ignorance 
and  degradation."  In  the  beginning  tliis  mission  was 
supported  by  the  Unitarian  Sunday-schools  in  Boston, 
but  gradually  the  number  of  schools  contributing  to 
lits  maintenance  was  enlarged  until  it  included  nearly 
lall  of  those  connected  with  Unitarian  churches  in  New 
England. 

*  Report  of  the  National  Conference,  1895,  205. 


UNITARIAN   PHILANTHROPIES  333 

As  soon  as  the  mission  was  organized,  Rev.  Joseph  E. 
Barry  was  made  the  missionary;  and  he  opened  a  Sun- 
day-school in  Utica  Street.  Beginning  in  1853,  one  or 
more  women  were  employed  to  aid  him  in  his  work.  In 
May,  1857,  Rev.  Edmund  Squire  began  work  as  a  mis- 
sionary in  Washington  Village ;  but  this  mission  was 
soon  given  into  the  hands  of  the  Benevolent  Fraternity. 
In  June,  1858,  Mr.  B.  H.  Greene  was  engaged  to  visit 
the  jail  and  lockup  in  aid  of  the  young  persons  found 
there.  In  1859  work  was  undertaken  in  East  Boston, 
and  also  in  South  Boston.  From  this  time  onward 
from  three  to  five  persons  were  constantly  employed  as 
missionaries,  in  visiting  throughout  the  city,  persuading 
children  to  attend  day-schools,  sewing-schools,  and  Sun- 
day-schools, securing  employment  for  those  old  enough 
to  labor,  and  in  placing  children  in  country  homes.  In 
April,  1857,  Mr.  Barry  took  a  party  of  forty-eight  chil- 
dren to  Ilhnois ;  and  five  other  parties  followed  to  that 
state  and  to  ^Nlicliigan  and  Ohio.  Since  1860  homes 
have  been  found  in  New  England  for  all  children  sent 
outside  the  city. 

In  November,  1858,  a  hall  in  Eliot  Street  was  secured 
for  the  religious  services  of  the  mission,  wliich  included 
boys'  classes,  Sunday-school,  and  various  organizations 
of  a  moral  and  intellectual  character.  In  1859  a  house 
was  rented  in  Camden  Street  especially  for  the  care  of 
the  boys  who  came  under  the  charge  of  the  mission.  In 
March,  1867,  was  completed  the  house  on  Tremont 
Street  in  which  the  work  of  the  mission  has  since 
been  carried  on.  An  additional  building  for  very 
young  children  was  provided  in  October,  1890.  For 
fifty  years  Mr.  Barry  continued  his  work  as  the  mis- 
sionary of   this  noble  ministry  to  the  children  of   the 


334  UNITAHIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

poor.  Since  1877  Mr.  William  Crosby  has  been  the 
efficient  superintendent,  having  served  for  eighteen 
years  previously  as  the  treasurer.  The  mission  has  cared 
for  more  than  five  thousand  cliildi-en. 

It  has  been  indicated  already  that  much  attention 
was  given  to  the  care  of  the  poor  and  to  the 
th  Poor  P^^vention  of  pauperism.  It  is  safe  to  assume 
that  every  Unitarian  minister  was  a  worker  in 
tliis  direction.  It  is  well  to  notice  the  efforts  of  one 
man,  because  his  work  led  to  the  scientific  methods  of 
charitable  relief  which  are  employed  in  Boston  at  the 
present  time.  When  Rev.  Ephraim  Peabody  became 
the  minister  of  King's  Chapel,  in  1846,  he  turned  his 
attention  to  the  education  of  the  poor  and  to  the  preven- 
tion of  pauperism.  In  connection  with  Rev.  Frederick 
T.  Gray  he  oj)ened  a  school  for  those  adults  whose  edu- 
cation had  been  neglected.  Especial  attention  was  given 
to  the  elementary  instruction  of  emigrant  women.  Many 
children  and  adults  accepted  the  opportunity  thus  afford- 
ed, and  a  large  school  was  maintained  for  several  years. 

With  the  aid  of  Mr.  Francis  E.  Parker  another  impor- 
tant work  was  undertaken  by  Mr.  Peabody.  Although 
Dr.  Tuckerman  had  labored  to  prevent  duplication  of 
charitable  gifts  and  to  organize  the  philanthropies  of 
Boston  in  an  effective  manner,  with  the  increase  of  pop- 
ulation the  evils  he  strove  to  prevent  had  grown  into 
large  proportions.  In  order  to  prevent  overlapping,  im- 
position, and  failure  to  provide  for  many  who  were  really 
needy,  but  not  eager  to  push  their  own  claims,  Mr.  Pea- 
body organized  the  Boston  Provident  Association  in 
1851.  Tliis  society  divided  the  city  into  small  districts, 
and  put  each  under  the  supervision  of  a  person  who  was 
to   examine    every  case    that  came  before   the  society 


UNITARIAN    PHILANTHROPIES  335 

within  the  territory  assigned  him.  The  first  president 
of  this  society  was  Hon.  Samuel  A.  Eliot,  who  was  a 
mayor  of  the  city,  a  representative  in  the  lower  house  of 
Congress,  and  an  organizer  of  many  philanthropies.  This 
society  was  eminently  successful  in  its  operations,  and 
did  a  great  amount  of  good.  Its  friendly  visits  to  the 
poor  and  its  judicious  methods  of  procuring  the  co-oper- 
ation of  many  charity  workers  prepared  the  way  for  the 
introduction,  in  1879,  of  the  Associated  Charities  of 
Boston,  which  extended  and  effectively  organized  the 
work  begun  by  Mr.  Peabody.*  Numerous  other  organ- 
izations might  be  mentioned  that  have  been  initiated  by 
Unitarians  or  largely  supported  by  them.f 

The  work  for  the  humane  treatment  of  animals  was 

begun,  and  has  been  largely  carried  on,  by 
Humane  Unitarians.  The  founder  of  the  American 
of  Animals    Society    for   the    Prevention    of    Cruelty  to 

Animals  was  Henry  Bergh,  who  was  a  mem- 
ber of  All  Souls'  Church  in  New  York,  under  the  min- 
istry of  Dr.  Bellows.  In  1865  he  began  his  work  in 
behalf  of  kindness  to  animals  in  New  York  City,  and  the 
society  he  organized  was  incorporated  April  10,  1866. 
It  was  soon  engaged  in  an  extensive  work.  In  1873 
Mr.  Bergh  proceeded  to  organize  branch  humane  soci- 
eties ;  and,  as  the  result  of  his  work,  most  of  the  states 
have  legislated  for  the  humane  care  of  animals. 

*  Sermons  of  Ephraim  Peabody,  introductory  Memoir,  xxv  ;  Memorial 
History  of  Boston,  IV.  ()62,  George  S.  Hale  on  the  Charities  of  Boston ; 
A.  P.  Peabody,  Harvard  Graduates,  155. 

t  Besides  the  Fragment  Society,  the  Children's  Mission,  and  the  Boston 
Provident  Society,  already  mentioned  and  still  vigorously  at  work,  several 
other  societies  are  wholly  supported  by  Unitarians.  Of  these  may  be  named 
the  Howard  Benevolent  Society  in  the  City  of  Boston,  organized  in  1812, 
incorporated  in  1818 ;  Young  Men's  Benevolent  Society,  organized  in  1827, 
incorporated  in  1852 ;  Industrial  Aid  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Pauper- 
ism, organized  in  1835,  incorporated  in  1884. 


336  UNITAKIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

A  similar  work  of  a  Unitarian  is  that  of  Mr.  George 
T.  Angell  in  Boston,  who  in  1868  founded,  and  has 
since  been  the  president  of,  the  Massachusetts  Society 
for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Animals.  In  1889  he 
became  the  president  of  the  American  Humane  Educa- 
tion Society,  a  position  he  continues  to  hold.  He  is  the 
editor  of  Our  Dumb  Animals,  and  has  in  many  ways 
been  active  in  the  work  of  the  great  charity  with  which 
he  has  been  connected. 

The  initiative  in  the  establishment  of  Christian  unions 
for  young  men  in  cities,  on  a  wholly 

oung     en  s  unsectarian  basis,  was  taken  by  a  Unita- 

Christian  Unions.  '  -^ 

rian.  Mr.  Caleb  Davis  Bradlee,  a  Har- 
vard undergraduate,  who  was  afterward  a  Boston  pastor 
for  many  years,  gathered  together  in  the  parlor  of  his 
father's  house  a  company  of  young  men,  and  proposed 
to  them  the  formation  of  a  society  for  mutual  improve- 
ment. This  was  on  September  17,  1851 ;  and  the 
organization  then  formed  was  called  the  Bibhcal  Liter- 
ature Society.  Those  who  belonged  to  the  society  dur- 
ing the  winter  of  1851-52  were  so  much  benefited  by 
it  that  they  decided  to  enlarge  their  plans  and  to  ex- 
tend their  influence  to  a  greater  number.  At  the  sug- 
gestion of  Rev.  Charles  Brooks,  minister  of  the  Unitarian 
church  in  South  Hingham,  the  name  was  changed  to  the 
Boston  Young  Men's  Christian  Union,  the  first  meeting 
under  the  new  form  of  organization  being  held  March 
15,  1852.  On  October  11  of  the  same  year  the  society 
was  incorporated,  many  of  the  leading  men  of  the  city 
having  already  given  it  their  encouragement  and  sup- 
port.* 

*  Alfred  Manchester,  Life  of  Caleb  Davis  Bradlee,  8  ;  First  Anniver- 
sary, address  before  the  Boston  Young  Men's  Christian  Union  by  Rev. 
F.  D.  Huntington,  Appendix. 


UNITARIAN    PHILANTHROPIES  337 

This  society  has  grown  into  one  of  the  largest  and 
best-equipped  institutions  of  the  kind  in  the  world.  It 
has  been  aided  by  persons  of  all  religious  beliefs,  and  its 
membership  is  open  to  men  of  every  faith.  Though  the 
most  conspicuous,  it  has  not  been  the  only  organization 
of  the  kmd  largely  supported  by  Unitarians.  The 
Union  for  Christian  Work  in  Providence  has  been  car- 
ried on  in  much  the  same  manner  and  for  the  same 
pm-poses.  Eleven  days  after  the  great  fire  in  Clii- 
cago  there  was  organized  in  that  city  a  Young  Men's 
Christian  Union,  to  which  Rev.  Charles  W.  Wendte 
devoted  his  attention.  It  grew  rapidly,  and  under 
the  name  of  the  Athenaeum  continues  to  do  an  im- 
portant and  unsectarian  work  for  young  men.  Rev. 
Edward  I.  Galvin  was  the  superintendent  from  1872  to 
1894. 

In  connection  with  the  Boston  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Union  were  originated  two  important  charities, — 
the  Country  Week,  designed  to  afford  the  poor  a  vaca- 
tion in  the  country ;  and  the  Flower  Mission,  for  the 
distribution  of  flowers  to  the  sick  and  the  poor.  It  may 
be  also  proper  to  mention  here  that  evening  schools  and 
sewing-schools  were  first  introduced  into  Boston  by 
Rev.  Charles  F.  Barnard,  in  connection  with  his  work 
at  the  Warren  Street  Chapel.  When  their  utihty  had 
been  thus  demonstrated,  such  schools  were  made  a  part 
of  the  public  school  system  of  the  city.  At  the  Holhs 
Street  Church  Rev.  George  L.  Chaney  established  the 
first  industrial  school  in  the  city,  which  was  also  mcor- 
porated  into  the  public  school  system  when  it  had  de- 
monstrated its  value.* 

*  Report  of  the  National  Conference,  1886,  E.  E.  Hale  on  The  Charita- 
ble Work  of  the  Church,  124. 


338  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMEEICA 

After  the  close  of  the  civil  war  there  was  a  large  de- 
mand for  help  in  the  South,  especially 

Educational  Work  amongst  the  negroes.  Most  of  the  aid 
in  the  South.  °        ^^    .     °  ,  ,        , 

given  by  Unitarians  was  through  other 

than  denominational  channels ;  but  something  was  done 
by  the  Unitarian  Association  as  well  as  by  other  Unita- 
rian organizations.  Miss  Amy  Bradley,  who  had  been 
a  very  successful  worker  for  the  Sanitary  Commission, 
opened  a  school  for  the  whites  in  Wilmington,  N.C. 
Her  work  extended  to  all  the  schools  of  the  city,  and 
was  eminently  successful.  She  became  the  city  and 
then  the  county  superintendent  of  schools.  She  was 
supported  by  the  Unitarian  Association  and  the  Sol- 
diers' Memorial  Society.  Among  the  Unitarians  who  at 
that  time  engaged  in  the  work  of  educating  the  negroes 
were  Rev.  Henry  F.  Edes  in  Georgia,  Rev.  James 
Thurston  in  North  Carohna,  Miss  M.  Louisa  Shaw 
in  Florida,  Miss  Bottume  on  Ladies'  Island,  and 
Miss  Sally  HoUey  and  Miss  Caroline  F.  Putnam  in 
Virginia. 

In  1868  the  Unitarian  Association  entered  upon  a 
systematic  effort  to  aid  the  negroes  through  co-operar 
tion  with  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
The  sum  of  $4,000  was  in  that  year  devoted  to  this 
work ;  and  it  was  largely  spent  in  educational  efforts, 
especially  in  aid  of  college  and  theological  students. 
Wilberforce  University  had  the  benefit  of  lectures  from 
Dr.  George  W.  Hosmer,  president  of  Antioch  College, 
and  of  Edward  Orton,  James  K.  Hosmer,  and  other 
professors  in  that  institution.  Libraries  of  about  fifty 
volumes  of  carefully  selected  books,  including  elementr 
ary  works  of  science,  history,  biography,  and  a  few  the- 
ological works,  were  given  to  ministers  of  that  church 


UNITARIAN   PHILANTHROPIES  339 

who  applied  for  them.  This  connection  continued  for 
several  years,  and  was  of  much  importance  in  the 
advancement  of  the  South. 

With  the  first  of  January,  1886,  the  Unitarian  Asso- 
ciation established  a  bureau  of  information  in  regard  to 
southern  education,  of  which  General  J.  B.  F.  Marshall, 
who  had  been  for  many  years  the  treasurer  of  the 
Hampton  Institute,  was  made  the  superintendent.  This 
Imreau,  during  its  existence  of  three  years,  investigated 
the  claims  of  various  schools,  and  recommended  those 
most  deserving  of  aid. 

In  1891  Miss  Mabel  W.  Dillingham  and  Miss  Char- 
lotte R.  Thorn,  who  had  been  teachers  for  several  years 
in  the  Hampton  Institute,  opened  a  school  for  negroes 
in  Calhoun,  Ala.  Miss  Dillingham  died  in  1894;  and 
she  was  succeeded  by  her  brother.  Rev.  Pitt  Dilling- 
ham, as  the  principal  of  the  school.  The  Calhoun 
School  has  been  supported  mostly  by  Unitarians,  and  it 
has  been  successful  in  doing  a  practical  and  important 
work. 

During  the  first  eight  years  of  the  Tuskegee  Institute 
it  received  $5,000  annually  from  Unitarians,  and  in 
more  recent  years  'flO,000  annually.  This  has  been 
given  by  individuals,  churches,  and  other  organizations, 
but  in  no  sense  as  a  denominational  work.  Concerning 
the  aid  given  to  the  Hampton  Institute  this  statement 
lias  been  made  by  the  principal :  "  The  Unitarian  de- 
nomination has  had  a  very  important  part  in  the  work 
of  Hampton.  Our  first  treasurer  was  General  J.  F.  B. 
Marshall,  a  Unitarian  who  made  it  possible  for  General 
Armstrong  first  to  gain  access  to  Boston  and  secure 
friends  there,  many  of  whom  have  been  lifelong  con- 
tributors   to    this    Avork.     General    Marshall    came    to 


340  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

Hampton  in  1872,  and  for  some  twelve  years  took  a 
most  important  part  in  building  up  this  institution.  He 
trained  young  men  for  the  treasui-er's  office,  who  still 
hold  important  positions  in  the  school,  and  others  who 
have  been  sent  to  various  institutions.  The  home  of 
General  and  Mrs.  Marshall  here  was  of  incalculable 
help  in  many  ways,  brightening  and  cheering  the  lives 
of  our  teachers  and  students.  Unitarians  have  always 
had  a  prominent  part  in  the  support  of  Hampton.  Mrs. 
Mary  Hemenway  was  the  largest  donor  to  the  Institute 
during  her  lifetime.  She  gave  $10,000  for  the  purchase 
of  our  Hemenway  Farm,  and  helped  General  Armstrong 
in  many  ways."  * 

At   three    different   periods    the    Unitarian   Associa- 
tion has    undertaken  educational  work 

f  T^l"*".^-^  ^°'''  amongst  the  Indians.  The  first  of  these 
for  the  Indians.  '^  .  . 

proved  abortive,  but  is  of  much  interest. 
James  Tanner,f  a  half-breed  Chippeway  or  Ojibway 
from  Mimiesota,  appeared  before  the  board  of  the  Asso- 
ciation, February  12, 1855,  in  behalf  of  his  people.  He 
had  been  a  Baptist  missionary  to  the  Ojibways,  but  had 
found  that  he  could  accomplish  little  while  the  Indians 
continued  their  roving  life  and  their  wars  with  the 
Sioux.  He  therefore  wished  to  have  his  people  adopt  a 
settled  agricultural  life.  The  Baptist  Home  Missionary 
Society,  with  which  he  was  laboring,  would  not  accede 
to  his  plans  in  this  respect,  and  desired  that  he  should 
confine  himself  to  the  preachmg  of  the  gospel.  Unable 
to  do  this  on  account  of  his  liberal  views,  he  went  to 
Boston  with  the  hope  that  he  might  secure  aid  from  the 

*  Personal  letter  from  Mr.  H.  B.  Frissell. 

t  Edwin  James,  A  Narrative  of  the  Captivity  and  Adventures  of  John 
Tanner  during  Thirty  Years'  Residence  among  the  Indians  of  North  Amer- 
ica.   (John  Tanner  was  the  father  of  James.) 


UNITARIAN    PHILANTHROPIES  341 

Baptists  there.  He  was  soon  told  that  he  was  a  Unita- 
rian, and  he  sought  a  knowledge  of  those  of  that  faith. 
He  was  thus  led  to  apply  to  the  Unitarian  Association 
for  help,  which  was  granted.  He  secured  an  outfit  of 
agricultural  and  other  implements,  and  returned  to  his 
people  in  the  spring  of  1855.  In  December  of  that  year 
Mr.  Tanner  attended  a  meeting  of  the  board  of  the  As- 
sociation, accompanied  by  six  Ojibway  chiefs.  On  this 
unique  occasion  the  calumet  was  smoked  by  all  present, 
and  addresses  were  made  by  the  Indians.  In  April, 
1856,  the  board  reluctantly  abandoned  this  enterprise, 
because  the  money  for  the  yearly  expenditure  of  |4,000, 
which  it  required,  could  not  be  secured.* 

In  1871  President  Grant  inaugurated  the  policy  of 
educating  the  Indians  under  the  direction  of  the  several 
religious  denominations  of  the  country.  To  the  Unita- 
rians were  assigned  the  Utes  of  Colorado.  The  reser- 
vation at  White  River  was  placed  in  charge  of  Mr.  J.  S. 
Littlefield,  and  that  at  Los  Pinos  of  Rev.  J.  Nelson 
Trask.  Several  other  persons  took  up  this  work,  in- 
cluding Rev.  Henry  F.  Bond  and  his  wife.  In  1885 
the  Utes  were  removed  to  a  reservation  in  Utah.  In 
the  spring  of  1886  Mr.  Bond  returned  to  them  for  the 
purpose  of  establishing  a  boarding-school  amongst 
them ;  but,  not  getting  sufficient  encouragement,  he 
went  to  Montana,  where  in  the  autumn  he  opened  the 
Montana  Industrial  School,  with  eighteen  pupils  from 
the  Crows  in  attendance.  Buildings  were  erected,  farm 
work  begun,  carpenter  and  blacksmith  shops  put  in  op- 
eration, all  at  a  cost  of  $20,000.  The  school  was 
located  on  the  Big  Horn  River,  thirty  miles  from  Fort 
Custer. 

*  Quarterly  Journal,  II.  r,2i;,  ;544 ;  III.  64,  257,  449,  t)2y. 


342  UNTTAEIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

It  was  the  object  of  the  Montana  Industrial  School 
to  remove  the  Indian  children  from  their  nomadic  con- 
ditions and  to  give  them  a  practical  education,  with  so 
much  of  instruction  in  books  as  would  be  of  real  help 
to  them.  The  boys  were  taught  farm  work  and  the  use 
of  tools,  while  the  girls  were  tramed  in  sewing,  cook- 
ing, and  other  useful  employments.  At  the  same  time 
there  was  constant  training  in  cleanliness,  good  man- 
ners, and  right  living.  The  school  was  fairly  success- 
ful ;  and  the  results  would  doubtless  have  been  impor- 
tant, could  the  experiment  have  gone  on  for  a  longer 
period.  In  1891  Mr.  Bond  withdrew  from  the  school 
on  account  of  his  age,  and  it  was  placed  in  charge  of 
Rev.  A.  A.  Spencer.  With  the  1st  of  July,  1895,  how- 
ever, the  care  of  the  school  was  assumed  by  the  na- 
tional government. 

Extended  as  this  chapter  has  become,  it  has  failed  to 
give  anything  hke  an  exhaustive  statement  of  the  phi- 
lanthropies of  Unitarians.  Their  charitable  activities 
have  been  constant  and  in  many  directions.  This  may  be 
seen  in  the  wide-reaching  philanthropic  interests  of  Dr. 
Edward  Everett  Hale,  whose  Lend-a-hand  Clubs,  King's 
Daughters  societies,  and  kindred  movements  admirably 
illustrate  the  practical  side  of  Unitarianism,  its  broad 
humanitarian  spirit,  its  philanthropic  and  reformatory 
purpose,  and  its  high  ideal  of  Christian  fidelity  and 
service. 


XVI. 

UNITARIANS   AND   REFORMS. 

The  belief  of  Unitarians  in  the  innate  goodness  of 
man  and  in  his  progress  towards  a  higher  moral  life,  to- 
gether with  their  desire  to  make  religion  practical  in  its 
character  and  to  have  it  deal  A\dth  the  actual  facts  of 
human  'life,  has  made  it  obligatory  that  they  should 
give  the  encouragement  of  their  support  to  whatever 
promised  to  further  the  cause  of  justice,  liberty,  and 
purity.  Their  attitude  towards  reforms,  however,  has 
been  qualified  by  their  love  of  individual  freedom. 
They  have  had  a  dread  of  ecclesiastical  restriction  and 
of  any  attempt  to  coerce  opinions  or  to  establish  a 
despotism  over  individual  convictions.  And  yet,  with 
all  this  insistence  upon  personal  liberty,  no  body  of 
men  and  women  has  ever  been  more  devoted  to  the 
furthering  of  practical  reforms  than  those  connected 
with  Unitarian  churches.  No  one,  for  instance,  was 
ever  more  zealous  for  individual  freedom  than  Theo- 
dore Parker;  but  he  was  essentially  a  reformer.  He 
was  a  persistent  advocate  of  peace,  temperance,  educa- 
tion, the  rights  of  women,  the  rights  of  the  slave,  the 
abolition  of  capital  punishment,  reform  in  prison  disci- 
pline, and  the  application  of  humanitarian  principles  to 
the  conduct  of  life. 

"  It   may    be    doubted    whether    any  man  who    ever 

lived  contributed   more   to  spread    iust 
Peace  Movement.  .  i  i  •  ,.  , 

sentiments  on  the  subject  of  war  and  to 

hasten  the  era  of  universal  peace,"  said  Dr.  Channing 


344  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

of  Noah  Worcester,  who  has  been  often  called  "the 
Apostle  of  Peace."  It  was  the  second  contest  with 
Great  Britain  that  led  Dr.  Worcester  to  consider  the 
nature  and  effects  of  war.  In  August,  1812,  on  the 
day  appointed  for  a  national  fast,  he  preached  a  sermon 
in  which  he  maintained  that  the  war  then  beginning 
was  without  sufficient  justification,  and  that  war  is 
always  an  evil.  In  1814  he  further  studied  the  sub- 
ject, with  the  result  that  he  wrote  a  little  book  which 
he  called  A  Solemn  Review  of  the  Custom  of  War.* 

The  Solemn  Review  was  widely  circulated,  it  was 
translated  into  many  languages,  it  made  a  deep  and 
lasting  impression,  and  it  had  a  world-wide  influence  in 
preparing  the  minds  of  men  for  the  acceptance  of  peace 
principles.  The  remedy  for  war  it  proposed  was  an 
international  court  of  arbitration.!  Through  the  ef- 
forts of  Dr.  Worcester  the  Massachusetts  Peace  Society 
was  organized  December  28,  1815,  one  of  the  first 
societies  of  the  kind  in  the  world.J  William  Phillips 
was  made  the  president,  and  Dr.  Noah  Worcester  the 
corresponding  secretary,  with  Dr.  Henry  Ware,  Dr. 
Channing,  and  Rev.  Francis  Parkman  among  his  coun- 
cillors. On  the  executive  committee  with  Dr.  Worces- 
ter in  1819  were  Rev.  Ezra  Ripley  and  Rev.  John 
Pierce.  Other  Unitarian  members  and  workers  were 
James  Freeman,  Nathaniel  L.  Frothingham,  Charles 
Lowell,  Samuel  C.  Thacher,  J.  T.  Kirkland,  and 
Joseph  Tuckerman ;  and,  of  laymen,  Moses  Grant, 
Josiah  Quincy,  and  Colonel  Joseph  May.     In  1819  Dr. 

*  American  Unitarian  Biography,  edited  by  William  Ware  ;  Memoir  of 
Worcester,  by  Henry  Ware,  Jr.,  I.  45,  46. 

t  Solemn  Re^dew,  edition  of  18.">fi  by  American  Peace  Society,  7. 

t  It  had  been  preceded  by  societies  in  Ohio  and  New  York,  results  of 
the  influence  of  the  Solemn  Review. 


UNITAEIANS   AND   REFORMS  345 

Worcester  began  the  publication  of  The  Friend  of 
Peace,  a  small  quarterly  magazine,  a  large  part  of  the 
contents  of  which  lie  vvi'ote  liimseK.  After  the  first 
number,  having  obtained  the  assistance  of  several 
wealthy  Friends,  he  relinquished  the  copyright ;  and  the 
numbers  were  republished  in  several  parts  of  the 
country,  thus  obtaining  a  wide  circulation.  He  de- 
voted himself  almost  wholly  to  this  publication  and 
the  advocacy  of  the  cause  of  peace  until  1829,  when  he 
relinquished  its  editorship.  "This  must  be  looked 
upon  as  a  very  remarkable  work,"  wrote  Henry  Ware, 
the  younger.  "  To  his  wakeful  mind  everything  that 
occurred  and  everything  that  he  read  offered  him 
materials ;  he  appeared  to  see  nothing  which  had  not  a 
bearing  on  this  one  topic ;  and  his  book  becomes  a 
boundless  repository  of  curious,  entertaining,  striking 
extracts  from  writers  of  all  sorts  and  the  history  of  all 
times,  displaying  the  criminality  and  folly  of  war,  and 
the  beauty  and  efficacy  of  the  principles  of  peace."  * 

In  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  peace.  Dr.  Worcester  had 
the  support  of  Dr.  Channing's  "respectful  sympathy 
and  active  co-operation."  f  According  to  Dr.  John 
Pierce,  Charming  was  the  hfe  and  soul  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Peace  Society.  "  For  years,"  says  his  biographer, 
"he  devoted  himself  to  the  work  of  extending  its  in- 
fluence with  unwavering  zeal,  as  many  of  his  papers 
of  that  period  attest."  J  From  his  pulpit  Dr.  Chan- 
ning  frequently  expressed  liis  faith  in  the  principles  of 
peace,  and  he  sti-ongly  advocated  those  Christian  con- 
victions  and    that    spirit    of    good    will    which    would 

*  Unitarian  Biography,  I.  49. 

t  Memoir,  II.  284  ;  one-volume  edition,  111. 

t  Ibid.,  III.  Ill ;  one-volume  edition,  284. 


346  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

make  war  impossible  if  they  were  applied  to  the  con- 
duct of  nations. 

Not  less  devoted  to  the  cause  of  peace  was  Dr.  Ezra 
S.  Gannett,  of  whom  his  son  says :  "  He  thought  that 
reason,  reUgion,  the  whole  spirit  as  well  as  the  letter  of 
the  gospel,  united  in  forbidding  war.  Probably  he  was 
non-resistant  up  to,  rather  than  in,  the  absolutely  last 
extremity ;  although  he  writes  that  an  English  book 
which  Dr.  Channing  lent  him  as  the  best  he  knew  upon 
the  subject,  *  has  made  me  a  thorough  peace  man  ! '"  * 
"  Let  the  fact  of  brotherhood  be  fairly  grasped,"  wrote 
Dr.  Frederic  H.  Hedge,  "  and  war  becomes  impossible."  f 
"  The  tremendous  extent  and  pertinacity  of  the  habit  of 
human  slaughter  in  battle,"  wrote  Dr.  WilUam  R.  Alger, 
"  its  shocking  criminality,  and  its  incredible  foolishness, 
when  regarded  from  an  advanced  religious  position,  are 
three  facts  calculated  to  appall  every  thoughtful  man 
and  startle  him  into  amazement."  "  It  is  vain,"  he  said, 
"  to  undertake  to  impart  a  competent  conception  of  the 
crimes  and  miseries  belonging  to  war.  Their  appalling 
character  and  magnitude  stun  the  imagination  and  pass 
off  like  the  burden  of  a  frightful  dream."  $ 

Worcester's  Solemn  Review  convinced  Rev.  Samuel 
J.  May  "  that  the  precepts,  spirit,  and  example  of  Jesus 
gave  no  warrant  to  the  violent,  bloody  resistance  of  evil ; 
that  wrong  could  be  effectually  overcome  by  right,  ha- 
tred by  love,  violence  by  gentleness,  evil  of  any  kind  by 
its  opposite  good.  I  preached  this,"  he  said,  "  as  one 
of  the  cardinal  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  and  endeavored 
especially  to  show  the  wickedness  and  folly  of  the  cus- 

*  Memoir,  139. 

t  Christian  Examiner,  May,  1850,  XLVIII.  378. 

t  Ibid.,  November,  18G1,  LXXI.  313. 


UNITARIANS    AND   REFORMS  347 

torn  of  war."  *  In  1826  lie  organized  a  county  peace 
society,  the  first  in  the  country ;  and  his  first  publica- 
tion was  in  advocacy  of  this  reform. f 

Of  the  men  connected  with  pohtical  life,  Charles 
Sumner  was  the  most  devoted  and  influential  friend  of 
the  peace  cause.  As  early  as  March,  1839,  he  wrote  to 
a  friend,  "  I  hold  all  wars  as  unjust  and  unchristian." 
His  address  on  The  True  Grandeur  of  Nations,  given  be- 
fore the  mayor  and  other  officials  of  Boston,  July  4, 1845, 
was  one  of  the  noblest  and  most  effective  utterances  on 
the  subject.  Though  a  considerable  part  of  the  audi- 
ence was  in  military  array,  Sumner  showed  the  evils  of 
war  in  uncompromising  terms,  denouncing  it  as  cruel 
and  unnecessary,  while  with  true  eloquence,  great  learn- 
ing, and  deep  conviction  he  made  his  plea  for  peace. 
"  The  effect  was  immediate  and  striking,"  wrote  George 
W.  Curtis.  "  There  were  great  indignation  and  warm 
protest  on  the  one  hand,  and  upon  the  other  sincere  con- 
gratulation and  high  compliment.  Sumner's  view  of 
the  absolute  wrong  and  iniquity  of  war  was  somewhat 
modified  subsequently;  but  the  great  purpose  of  a 
peaceful  solution  of  international  disputes  he  never  re- 
linquished." J  He  said  in  this  oration  that  "  in  our  age 
there  can  be  no  peace  that  is  not  honorable ;  there  can 
be  no  war  that  is  not  dishonorable."  This  statement 
was  severely  criticised,  but  it  indicates  his  uncompro- 
mising acceptance  of  peace  principles.  §  He  added  these 
pertinent  sentences :  "  The  true  honor  of  a  nation  is  to 
be  found  only  in  deeds  of  justice  and  in  the  happiness 
of  its  people,  all  of  which  are  inconsistent  with  war.     In 

*  Life,  83.  t  Ibid.,  115. 

t  Cyclopedia  of  American  Biography,  V.  746. 
§  Memoir,  II.  348, 


348  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMEllICA 

the  clear  eye  of  Christian  judgment  vain  are  its  victo- 
ries, infamous  are  its  spoils."  *  He  further  declared 
that  "  war  is  utterly  and  irreconcilably  inconsistent  ■with 
true  greatness."  f  These  views  he  continued  to  hold 
throughout  his  life,  though  in  a  more  conciliatory  spirit ; 
and  on  several  occasions  he  presented  them  before  the 
Peace  Society  and  elsewhere.  When  in  the  Senate  he 
was  a  leader  of  the  cause  of  arbitration,  and  exerted  his 
large  influence  in  securing  its  adoption  by  the  United 
States  as  a  means  of  preventing  war  with  foreign  coun- 
tries. As  late  as  July,  1873,  he  wrote  to  one  of  his 
friends :  "  I  long  to  witness  the  harmony  of  nations, 
which  I  am  sure  is  near.  When  an  evil  so  great  is 
recognized  and  discussed,  the  remedy  must  be  near  at 
hand."  $ 

The  work  done  by  Julia  Ward  Howe  for  the  cause  of 
peace  is  eminently  worthy  of  recognition.  One  chapter 
of  her  Reminiscences  is  devoted  to  her  "Peace  Cru- 
sade "  of  1870.  The  cruel  and  unnecessary  character  of 
the  Franco-Prussian  war  led  her  to  write  an  appeal  to 
mothers  to  use  their  influence  in  behalf  of  peace.  "  The 
august  dignity  of  motherhood  and  its  terrible  responsi- 
bilities now  appeared  to  me  in  a  new  aspect,"  she  writes, 
"  and  I  could  thmk  of  no  better  way  of  expressing  my 
sense  of  these  than  of  sending  forth  an  appeal  to  wom- 
anhood throughout  the  world,  which  I  then  and  there 
composed."  §  She  printed  and  distributed  her  appeal, 
had  it  translated  into  French,  Spanish,  Italian,  German, 
and  Swedish,  and  then  spent  many  months  in  corre- 
sponding with  leading  women  in  various  countries.  She 
invited  these  women  to  a  Women's  Peace  Congress  to 
be  held  in  London.     After  holding  two  successful  meet- 

*  Memoir.        t  Ibid.,  351.        |  Ibid.,  IV.  572.        §  Reminiscences,  328. 


UNITARIANS    AND   REFORMS  349 

ings  in  New  York,  she  began  her  crusade  in  England, 
holding  meetings  in  many  places,  and  also  attending  a 
Peace  Congress  in  Paris.  She  hired  a  hall  in  London, 
and  held  Sunday  meetings  to  promote  the  reform  she 
had  deeply  at  heart.  The  Women's  Congress  was  a 
success,  and  after  two  years  of  earnest  effort  Mrs. 
Howe  had  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  she  had 
done  something  to  promote  peace  on  earth  and  good 
will  among  men. 

Unitarians  have  been  active  in  the  cause  of  temper- 
ance, but  again  as  individuals  rather  than  as 

Temperance  denomination.  The  emphasis  they  have- 
Reform.  „.,..,      ,        .    • 

put  on  the  importance  of  individual  opinion 

and  personal  liberty  has  made  them  often  reluctant  to 
join  societies  that  sought  to  promote  this  reform  by 
restrictive  and  coercive  measures.  As  a  body,  there- 
fore, they  have  shown  a  greater  inclination  to  the  use  of 
moral  suasion  than  legislative  power. 

From  Dr.  Channing  this  reform  had  the  most  earnest 
approval.  "  The  temperance  reform  which  is  going  on 
among  us,"  he  wrote,  "  deserves  all  praise,  and  I  see  not 
what  is  to  hinder  its  complete  success.  I  believe  the 
movements  now  made  will  succeed,  because  they  are  in 
harmony  with  and  are  seconded  by  the  general  spiiit  and 
progress  of  the  age.  Every  advance  in  knowledge,  in 
refined  manners,  in  domestic  enjoyments,  in  habits  of 
foresight  and  economy,  in  regular  industiy,  in  the  com- 
forts of  life,  in  civilization,  good  morals  and  religion,  is 
an  aid  to  the  cause  of  temperance ;  and  believing  as  we 
do  that  these  are  making  progress,  may  we  not  hope  that 
drunkenness  will  be  driven  from  society?"*  He  re- 
garded the   subject  from  a  broader  point  of  view  than 

*  Memoir,  III.  36 ;  one-volume  edition,  477. 


350  UNITARIANISM   IN    AJSIERICA 

many,  and  urged  that  a  sound  physical  education  for  all 
youth,  as  well  as  larger  opportunities  for  intellectual 
improvement  on  the  part  of  workingmen,  would  do 
much  to  prevent  intemperance.*  He  maintained  that  to 
give  men  "  strength  within  to  withstand  the  temptations 
of  intemperance  "  is  incalculably  more  important  than  to 
remove  merely  outward  temptations.  Better  education, 
innocent  amusements,  a  wider  spirit  of  sympathy  and 
brotherhood,  discouragement  of  the  use  and  sale  of  ar- 
dent spirits,  were  among  the  means  he  recommended  for 
suppressing  this  evil.f 

The  Massachusetts  Society  for  the  Suppression  of  In- 
temperance was  organized  at  the  State  House  in  Boston 
on  February  5,  1813,  "  to  discountenance  and  suppress 
the  too  free  use  of  ardent  spirits,  and  to  encourage  and 
promote  temperance  and  general  morality."  This  was 
one  of  the  first  temperance  societies  organized  in  the 
country,  and  its  chief  promoters  were  Unitarians.  Dr. 
Jolin  C.  Collins,  who  published  the  records  of  the 
society,  said  of  the  year  1827,  when  he  became  a  mem- 
ber, that  "  Channing,  Gannett,  and  others  were  the  most 
active  men  at  that  time  in  the  temperance  cause."  | 
Dr.  Abiel  Abbot  was  the  first  corresponding  secretary  of 
the  society,  and  on  the  council  were  Drs.  Kirkland, 
Lothrop,  Worcester,  and  Pierce.  Among  the  other 
Unitarian  ministers  who  were  active  in  the  society 
were  Charles  Lowell,  the  younger  Henry  Ware,  John 
Pierpont,  and  John  G.  Palfrey.  Among  the  laymen 
were  Moses  Grant,  Nathan  Dane,  Dr.  John  Ware,  Ste- 
phen  Fairbanks,    Dr.  J.  F.  Flagg,    WiUiam    Sullivan, 

*  Memoir,  III.  31 ;  one-volume  edition,  474,  475. 
t  Works,  II.  301. 

t  When  will  the  Day  come  ?  and  other  tracts  of  the  Massaehuaetta  Tem- 
perance Society,  135. 


U^aTARIANS   AND   REFORMS  351 

Amos  Lawrence,  Samuel  Dexter,  and  Isaac  Parker.* 
Auxiliary  societies  were  organized  in  Salem,  Beverly, 
and  other  towns ;  and  these  gave  to  the  temperance  cause 
the  activities  of  such  Unitarians  as  Theophilus  Parsons, 
Robert  Rantoul,  and  Samuel  Hoar.f 

Of  the  more  recent  interest  of  Unitarians  in  questions 
of  temperance  reform  there  may  be  mentioned  the  thor- 
ough study  made  by  the  United  States  Commissioner  of 
Labor,  and  printed  in  1898  under  the  title  of  Economic 
Aspects  of  the  Liquor  Problem. :j:  This  investigation 
was  ordered  by  Congress  as  the  result  of  a  petition  sent 
to  that  body  by  the  Unitarian  Temperance  Society. 
Probably  few  petitions  have  ever  been  sent  to  Congress 
that  contained  so  many  prominent  names  of  leading 
statesmen,  presidents  of  colleges  and  universities,  bish- 
ops, clergymen,  well-known  literary  men,  and  other  per- 
sons of  influence.     The  Unitarian  Temperance  Society 

*  Of  the  twenty-seven  annual  addresses  given  before  this  society  from 
1814  to  1840,  at  least  sixteen  were  by  Unitarians  ;  and  among  these  were 
John  T.  Kirklaud,  Abiel  Abbot,  William  E.  Channing,  Edward  Everett, 
the  younger  Henry  Ware,  Gamaliel  Bradford,  Charles  Sprague,  James 
Walker,  Alexander  H.  Everett,  William  Sullivan,  and  Samuel  K.  Lothrop. 
The  first  four  presidents  of  this  society  —  Samuel  Dexter.  Nathan  Dane, 
Isaac  Parker,  and  Stephen  Fairbanks  —  were  Unitarians.  Of  the  same  faith 
were  also  a  large  proportion  of  the  vice-presidents  and  other  officers.  Many 
of  the  tracts  published  by  the  society  were  written  by  Unitarians. 

t  Unitarians  of  every  calling  have  been  the  advocates  of  temperance. 
Among  those  who  have  been  loyal  to  it  in  word  and  action  may  be  named 
John  Adams,  Jeremy  Belknap,  Jonathan  Phillips,  Charles  Lowell,  Ezra  S. 
Gannett,  John  Pierpont,  Samuel  J.  May,  Amos  Lawrence,  Horace  Mann, 
WiUiara  H.  and  George  S.  Burleigh,  Governor  Pitman,  William  G.  Eliot, 
Rufus  P.  Stebbins,  and  William  B.  Spooner.  "Many  of  the  leading  men 
and  women  who  were  eminent  as  lawyers,  judges,  legislators,  scholars,  also 
prominent  in  the  business  walks  of  life,  and  in  social  position,  gave  this 
cause  the  force  of  their  example,  and  the  inspiration  of  their  minds.  By 
their  contributions  of  money,  by  their  personal  efforts,  by  their  public 
speeches  and  writings,  and  by  their  practice  of  total  abstinence,  they  ren- 
dered very  valuable  service." 

t  Twelfth  Annual  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor,  1897. 


352  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

"was  organized  September  23,  1886,  in  connection  with 
the  meeting  of  the  National  Conference  at  Saratoga. 
Its  purpose  is  "  to  work  for  the  cause  of  temperance  in 
whatever  ways  may  seem  to  it  wise  and  right ;  to  study 
the  social  problems  of  poverty,  crime,  and  disease,  in 
their  relation  to  the  use  of  intoxicating  drinks,  and  to 
diffuse  whatever  knowledge  may  be  gained  ;  to  discuss 
methods  of  temperance  reform ;  to  devise  and,  so  far  as 
possible,  to  execute  plans  for  practical  reform ;  to  exert 
by  its  meetings  and  by  its  membership  such  influence 
for  good  as  by  the  grace  of  God  it  may  possess."  It 
has  held  annual  meetings  in  Boston,  and  other  meetings 
in  connection  with  the  National  Conference ;  it  has  pub- 
lished a  number  of  important  tracts,  temperance  text> 
books,  and  temperance  services  for  Sunday-schools ;  and 
it  has  exerted  a  considerable  influence  on  the  denomina- 
tion in  shaping  public  opinion  in  regard  to  tliis  reform. 
The  presidents  of  the  society  have  been  Rev.  Chris- 
topher R.  Eliot,  Rev.  George  H.  Hosmer,  and  Rev. 
Charles  F.  Dole. 

The  subject  of  temperance  reform  has  been  before  the 
National  Conference  on  several  occasions  and  in  various 
forms.  At  the  session  of  1882  a  resolution  offered  by 
Miss  Mary  Grew  was  adopted :  — 

That  the  unutterable  evils  continually  wrought  by 
intemperance,  the  easy  descent  from  moderate  to  im- 
moderate drinking,  and  the  moral  wrecks  strewn  along 
that  downward  path,  call  upon  Christians  and  patriots 
to  practise  and  advocate  abstinence  from  the  use  of  all 
intoxicating  liquors  as  a  beverage. 

In  1891  a  series  of  resolutions  recommended  by  the 
Unitarian  Temperance  Society  were  adopted  as  express- 
ing the  convictions  of  the  Conference  :  — 


UNITARIANS   AND   REFORMS  353 

First,  that  the  liquor  saloon,  as  it  exists  to-day  in 
the  United  States,  is  the  nation's  chief  school  of  crime, 
chief  college  of  coiTuption  in  politics,  chief  source  of 
poverty  and  ruined  homes,  chief  menace  to  our  coun- 
try's future,  is  the  standing  enemy  of  society,  and,  as 
such,  deserves  the  condemnation  of  all  good  men. 

Second,  that,  whatever  be  the  best  mode  of  dealing 
with  the  saloon  by  law,  law  can  avail  little  until  those 
who  condemn  the  saloon  consent  to  totally  abstain 
themselves  from  the  use  of  alcoholic  drink  for  pleasure. 

Tliird,  that  we  affectionately  and  urgently  call  on 
every  minister  and  all  laymen  and  women  in  our  denom- 
ination —  our  old,  our  young,  our  rich,  our  poor,  our 
leaders,  and  our  humblest  —  to  take  this  stand  of  total 
abstinence,  remembering  those  that  are  in  bonds  as 
bound  with  them,  and  throw  the  solid  influence  of  our 
church  against  the  influence  of  the  saloon. 

In  proportion  to  its  numbers  no  rehgious  body  in  the 

country  did  so  much  to  promote  the  anti- 
^nli'Slcivcrv* 

slavery  reform  as  the  Unitarian.  No  Uni- 
tarian defended  slavery  from  the  pulpit  or  by  means  of 
the  press,  and  no  one  was  its  apologist.*  Many,  how- 
ever, did  not  approve  of  the  methods  of  the  abolition- 
ists, and  some  strongly  opposed  the  extreme  measures 
of  a  part  of  that  body  of  reformers.  The  desire  of  Uni- 
tarians to  be  just,  rational,  and  open-minded,  exposed 
many  of  them  to  the  criticism  of  being  neither  for  nor 
against  slavery.  But  it  is  certain  that  they  were  not 
indifferent  to  its  evils  nor  recreant  to  their  humanita- 
rian principles. 

Tlie  period  of  the  anti-slavery  agitation  was  truly 
one  that  tried  the  souls  of  men ;  and  those  who  were 

*  Theodore  Clapp,  of  New  Orleans,  may  be  an  exception,  though  he  is 
claimed  by  the  Universaliats.  See  S.  J.  May's  Recollections  of  the  Anti- 
slavery  Conflict,  r>.'55. 


354  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

equally  conscientious,  desirous  of  serving  the  cause  of 
justice  and  humanity,  and  solicitous  for  the  welfare  of 
the  slave,  widely  differed  from  one  another  as  to  what 
was  the  wise  method  of  action.  Among  those  severely 
condemned  by  the  anti-slavery  party  were  several  Uni- 
tarian ministers  of  great  force  of  character  and  of  a 
genuinely  humanitarian  spirit.  Three  of  them  may  be 
selected  as  representative. 

Dr.  Orville  Dewey  had  seen  something  of  slavery, 
and  was  strongly  opposed  to  it.  He  thought  the  sys- 
tem hateful  in  itself  and  productive  of  nearly  un- 
mingled  evil,  and  yet  he  was  not  in  favor  of  immediate 
emancipation.  His  frequent  indictments  of  slavery  in 
his  sermons  and  lectures  were  severe  in  the  extreme ; 
but  his  demand  for  wise  and  patient  counsel,  and  for 
a  rational  method  of  gradual  emancipation,  subjected 
him  to  severe  condemnation.  "And  nothing  else 
brings  out  the  nobleness  of  Dr.  Dewey  into  such  bold 
relief  as  the  fact,"  says  Rev.  John  W.  Chadwick,  "  that 
the  immeasurable  torrent  of  abuse  that  greeted  his 
expressed  opinion  did  not  in  any  least  degree  avail  to 
make  him  one  of  the  pro-slavery  faction.  He  differed 
from  the  most  earnest  of  the  anti-slavery  men  only  as 
to  the  best  method  of  getting  rid  of  the  curse  of  human 
bondage."  * 

As  early  as  1830  Dr.  E.  S.  Gannett  said  that  "the 
greatest  evil  mider  which  our  nation  labors  is  the  ex- 
istence of  slavery.  It  is  the  only  vicious  part  of  our 
body  politic,  but  this  is  a  deep  and  disgusting  sore. 
It  must  be  treated  with  the  utmost  judgment  and 
skill."     The    violence    of   the  abolitionists    he  did  not 

♦Autobiography  and  Letters,  117,  127,  129.  The  criticism  of  Dr. 
Dewey  may  be  found  in  S.  J.  May's  Recollections,  367. 


UNITARIANS   AND    REFORMS  355 

approve,  however ;  for  his  respect  for  law  and  consti- 
tuted authority  was  so  great  that  he  was  not  ready  for 
radical  measures.  He  abhorred  slavery,  but  he  was  not 
wilhng  to  condemn  the  slaveholder.  He  was  therefore 
regarded  by  the  abolitionists  as  more  hostile  to  them 
than  any  other  Unitarian  minister.  His  attitude  as  a 
peace  man,  his  strong  regard  for  justice  and  fair  deal- 
ing, as  well  as  his  earnest  faith  in  tlie  gentle  influence 
of  the  gospel,  forbade  his  accepting  the  strenuous 
methods  of  the  abolitionists.  He  would  not,  however, 
permit  anti-slavery  ministers  to  be  silenced  in  Unitarian 
meetings.  When  he  saw  something  of  slavery,  in 
1833,  he  expressed  his  convictions  in  regard  to  it  in 
these  forcible  words :  "  It  is  the  attempt  to  degrade  a 
human  bemg  into  something  less  than  a  man, —  not  the 
confinement,  unjust  as  this  is,  nor  the  blows,  cruel  as 
these  are, —  but  the  denial  of  his  equal  share  in  the 
rights,  prerogatives,  and  responsibihties  of  a  human 
being,  which  brands  the  institution  of  slavery  with  its 
peculiar  and  ineffaceable  odiousness."  * 

Another  mmister  who  came  under  the  condemnation 
of  the  abolitionists  was  Rev.  John  H.  Morison,  and 
yet  he  preached  sermons  against  slavery  that  met  with 
the  vigorous  disapproval  of  his  congregation.  "  We  all 
agree,"  he  wrote  in  1844,  "in  the  sad  conviction  that 
slavery  in  its  political  influence,  more  than  all  other 
subjects,  threatens  to  upturn  the  foundation  of  our 
government;  that  in  its  moral  and  religious  bearings 
it  is  a  grievous  wrong  to  master  and  slave  ;  and  that, 
as  it  is  in  violation  of  the  fundamental  principles  of 
Christian  duty,  it  must,  if  continued  beyond  the  abso- 

*  Memoir,  139,  284,  29G.  See  S.  J.  May,  Recollections,  341,  ;5G7,  for  an 
anti-slavery  indictment  of  Dr.  Gannett. 


356  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

lute  necessity  of  the  case,  be  attended  with  conse- 
quences the  most  disastrous."  Again,  when  Daniel 
Webster  made  his  7th  of  March  speech  in  1850,  Dr. 
Morison,  then  the  editor  of  The  Christian  Register,  took 
the  earliest  possible  opportunity  to  express  himself  as 
strongly  as  he  could  against  it.  "We  at  the  North," 
he  wrote,  "  believe  that  slavery  is  morally  wrong."  He 
said  that  the  government,  in  its  attempt  to  defend 
slavery  as  against  the  moral  convictions  of  a  large 
number  of  the  people,  was  doing  the  country  a  great 
harm.* 

The  position  of  these  men  and  of  others  who  thought 
and  acted  with  them  can  best  be  understood  by  recogniz- 
ing the  fact  that  they  were  opposed  to  sectarian  methods 
in  promoting  reforms  as  in  advancing  the  interests  of  re- 
ligion. It  is  probable  that  in  these  heated  times  neither 
party  did  full  justice  to  the  spirit  and  purposes  of  the 
other.  Even  so  gentle  and  charitable  a  man  as  Rev. 
Samuel  J.  May  speaks  of  the  "discreditable  pro-slavery 
conduct  of  the  Unitarian  denomination."  "  The  Unita- 
rians as  a  body,"  he  says  again,  "dealt  with  the  question 
of  slavery  in  anything  but  an  impartial,  courageous,  and 
Christian  way.  Continually  in  their  public  meetings  the 
question  was  staved  off  and  driven  out  because  of  tech- 
nical, formal,  verbal  difficulties  which  were  of  no  real 
importance,  and  ought  not  to  have  caused  a  moment's 
hesitation.  Avowing  among  their  distinctive  doctrines 
the  fatherly  character  of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of 
man,  we  had  a  right  to  expect  from  the  Unitarians  a 
steadfast  and  unqualified  protest  against  so  unjust, 
tyrannical,  and  cruel  a  system  as  that  of  American  slav- 
ery.    And  considering  their  position  as  a  body,  not  en- 

*  Memoir,  chapter  on  Slavery. 


UNITARIANS   AND   REFORMS  357 

tangled  with  any  pro-slavery  alliances,  not  hampered 
with  any  ecclesiastical  organization,  it  does  seem  to  me 
that  they  were  pre-eminently  guilty  in  reference  to  the 
enslavement  of  the  millions  in  our  land  with  its  attend- 
ant wrongs,  cruelties,  horrors.  They  refused  to  speak 
as  a  body,  and  censured,  condemned,  execrated  their 
members  who  did  speak  faithfully  for  the  down-trodden, 
and  who  co-operated  with  him  whom  a  merciful  Provi- 
dence sent  as  the  prophet  of  the  reform."  * 

The  testimony  of  Rev.  O.  B.  Frothingham  is  fully  as 
condemnatory  of  Unitarian  timidity  and  conservatism, 
even  of  the  moral  cowardice  betrayed  by  many  of  the 
leaders.  He  says  the  Unitarians,  as  such,  "  were  indif- 
ferent or  lukewarm ;  the  leachng  classes  were  opposed 
to  the  agitation.  Dr.  Channing  was  almost  alone  in 
lending  countenance  to  the  reform,  though  his  hesitation 
between  the  dictates  of  natural  feeling  and  Christian 
charity  towards  the  masters  hampered  his  action,  and 
rendered  him  obnoxious  to  both  parties, —  the  radicals 
finding  fault  with  him  for  not  going  further,  the  conserv- 
atives blaming  him  because  he  went  so  far."  f  Mr. 
Frothingham  finds,  however,  that  the  transcendentalists 
were  quite  *'  universally  abolitionists,  their  faith,  in  the 
natural  poAvers  of  man  making  them  zealous  promoters 
of  the  cause  of  the  slave."  He  insists  that  as  a  class 
"  the  Unitarians  were  not  ardent  disciples  of  any  moral 
cause,  and  took  pride  in  being  reasoners,  believers  in  edu-- 
cation  and  in  general  social  influence,  in  the  progress  of 
knowledge  and  the  uplifting  of  humanity  by  means  of 
ideas,"  but  that  they  permitted  these  quahties  to  cool 

*  Recollections  of  the  Anti-slavery  Conflict,  chapter  on  the  Unitarians, 
335. 

t  See  Lydia  Maria  Child's  account  of  conversationa  with  Channing  on 
this  subject,  in  her  Letters  from  New  York. 


358  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

their  ardor  for  reform  and  to  mitigate  their  love  of 
humanity.* 

The  biographers  of  Wilham  Lloyd  Garrison  are  never 
tired  of  condemning  Dr.  Channing  for  what  they  call  his 
timidity,  his  shunning  any  personal  contact  with  the 
great  abolitionist,  his  failure  to  grapple  boldly  with  the 
evils  of  slavery,  and  his  half-hearted  espousal  of  the 
cause  of  abolition.  The  Unitarians  generally  are  by  these 
writers  regarded  in  the  same  manner,  f 

Most  of  the  accounts  mentioned  were  written  by  those 
who  took  part  in  the  agitation  against  slaver}',  in  con- 
demnation of  those  who  had  not  kept  step  with  their 
abolition  pace  or  in  apology  for  those  whose  words  and 
conduct  were  thought  to  need  defence.  The  time  has 
come,  perhaps,  when  it  is  possible  to  consider  the  atti- 
tude of  individuals  and  the  denomination  without  a 
partisan  wish  to  condemn  or  to  defend.  In  this  spirit 
the  statement  of  Samuel  J.  May  is  to  be  accepted  as 
true  and  just,  when  he  says :  "  We  Unitarians  have 
I  given  to  the  anti-slavery  cause  more  preachers,  writers, 
lecturers,  agents,  poets,  than  any  other  denomination  in 
I  proportion  to  our  numbers,  if  not  without  any  com- 
parison." I 

Among  those  who  listened  to  William  Lloyd  Garri- 
son when  in  October,  1830,  he  first  presented  in  Boston 
his  views  in  favor  of  immediate  emancipation,  were  Sam- 
uel J.  May,  Samuel  E.  Sewall,  and  A.  B.  Alcott ;  and  these 
men  at  once  became  his  disciples  and  friends. §  When 
Garrison  organized  the  New  England  Anti-slavery  So- 

*  Recollections  and  Impressions,  47,  183. 

t  The  Story  of  his  Life  as  Told  by  his  Children.       t  Recollections,  335. 
§  S.  J.  May,  Recollections,  19 ;  Life  of  A.  B.  Alcott,  220  ;  Life  of  Garri- 
son, I.  212. 


UNITARIANS    AND    REFORMS  359 

ciety  in  December,  1832,  he  was  actively  supported  by 
Samuel  E.  Sewall,  David  Lee  Child,  and  Ellis  Gray 
Luring.  It  was  to  the  financial  support  of  Sewall  and 
Loring,  though  they  did  not  at  first  accept  his  doctrine 
of  immediate  emancipation,  that  Garrison  owed  his 
abihty  to  begin  The  Liberator,  and  to  sustain  it  in  its 
earliest  years.*  For  many  years,  Edmund  Quincy  was 
connected  with  The  Liberator,  serving  as  its  editor  when 
Garrison  was  ill,  absent  on  lecturing  tours,  or  journey- 
ing in  Europe.  The  Massachusetts  Anti-slavery  So- 
ciety, which  in  1835  succeeded  the  New  England v^ 
Society,  had  during  many  years  Francis  Jackson  as  its 
president,  Edmund  Quincy  as  its  corresponding  secre-  ■ 
tary,  and  Robert  F.  Walcutt  as  its  recording  secretary, 
all  Unitarians. 

In  1834  was  formed  the  Cambridge  Anti-slavery  So- 
ciety, under  the  leadership  of  the  younger  Henry  Ware  ; 
and  the  membership  was  largely  Unitarian,  including 
the  names  of  Dr.  Henry  Ware,  Sidney  Willard,  Charles 
Follen,  Wilham  H.  Chanuing,  Artemus  B.  Muzzey, 
Barzillai  Frost,  Charles  T.  Brooks,  and  Frederic  H. 
Hedge.  The  purposes  of  the  society  were  stated  in  its 
constitution :  — 

We  beUeve  that  the  emancipation  of  all  who  are  in 
bondage  is  the  requisition,  not  less  of  sound  policy  than 
of  justice  and  humanity;  and  that  it  is  the  duty  of 
those  with  whom  the  power  lies  at  once  to  remove  the 
sanction  of  the  law  from  the  principle  that  man  can  be 
the  property  of  man, —  a  principle  inconsistent  with  our 
free  institutions,  subversive  of  the  purposes  for  which 
man  was  made,  and  utterly  at  variance  with  the  plainest 
dictates  of  reason  and  Christianity. 

In  1843  Samuel  May  visited  England,  and  at  Unitar 

*Life  of  Garrison,  I.  223. 


360  UNITAIIIANISM   IN    AMEKICA 

rian  meetings  described  the  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the 
abohtion  of  slavery,  and  spoke  of  the  apathy  of  American 
Unitarians.  He  advised  the  sending  a  letter  of  fra- 
ternal counsel  to  the  Unitarian  ministers  of  the  United 
States  "  in  behalf  of  the  unhappy  slave."  Such  a  letter 
was  prepared,  and  signed  by  eighty-five  muiisters.  It 
was  pubhshed  in  the  Unitarian  papers  in  this  country,  a 
meeting  was  held  to  consider  it,  and  a  reply  sent  to 
England  signed  by  one  hundred  and  thirty  ministers. 
Mr.  May  was  severely  condemned  for  his  part  in  caus- 
ing such  a  letter  to  be  sent,  and  the  reply  was  rather  in 
the  nature  of  a  protest  than  a  friendly  acceptance  of 
the  advice  given. 

A  year  later,  however,  this  letter  was  again  the  sub- 
ject of  earnest  discussion.  In  anniversary  week,  1845, 
a  meeting  of  Unitarian  ministers  was  held  to  "  discuss 
their  duties  in  relation  to  American  slavery."  The  call 
for  this  meeting  was  signed  by  James  Thompson,  Jo- 
seph Allen,  Caleb  Stetson,  Samuel  Ripley,  Converse 
Francis,  Wilham  Ware,  Samuel  J.  May,  Artemus  B. 
Muzzey,  Oliver  Stearns,  James  W.  Thompson,  Alonzo 
Hill,  Andrew  P.  Peabody,  Henry  A.  Miles,  Frederic  H. 
Hedge,  James  F.  Clarke,  George  W.  Briggs,  Samuel 
May,  Barzillai  Frost,  Nathaniel  Hall,  David  Fosdick, 
and  John  Weiss.  At  the  tliird  session,  by  a  vote  of 
forty-seven  to  seven,  it  was  declared  "  that  we  consider 
slavery  to  be  utterly  opposed  to  the  principles  and 
spirit  of  Christianity,  and  that,  as  ministers  of  the  gos- 
pel, we  feel  it  our  duty  to  protest  against  it,  in  the 
name  of  Christ,  and  to  do  all  we  may  to  create  a  public 
opinion  to  secure  the  overthrow  of  the  institution."  It 
was  also  decided  to  appoint  a  committee  to  draw  up, 
secure  signatures  to,  and  publish  "  a  protest  against  the 


UNITARIANS    AND    REFORMS  361 

institution  of  American  slavery,  as  unchristian  and  in- 
human." Tliough  some  of  those  who  spoke  at  these 
meetings  condemned  tlie  abohtionists,  yet  all  of  them 
expressed  in  the  strongest  terms  their  opposition  to 
slavery. 

The  committee  selected  to  prepare  this  protest  con- 
sisted of  Caleb  Stetson,  James  F.  Clarke,  John  Park- 
man,  Stephen  G.  Bulfinch,  A.  P.  Peabody,  John  Pier- 
pont,  Samuel  J.  May,  Oliver  Stearns,  George  W.  Briggs, 
Wilham  P.  Tilden,  and  WiUiaui  H.  Channing.  The 
protest  was  written  by  James  Freeman  Clarke,  and  was 
accepted  essentially  as  it  came  from  his  hands.  It  was 
signed  by  one  hmidred  and  seventy-three  ministers,*  the 
whole  number  of  Unitarian  ministers  at  that  time  being 
two  hundred  and  sixty-seven.  Some  of  the  most  promi- 
nent ministers  were  conspicuous  by  the  absence  of  their 
names  from  this  protest.  It  must  be  understood,  how- 
ever, that  those  who  did  not  sign  it  were  as  much  op- 
posed to  slavery  as  those  who  did.  "This  protest," 
said  the  editor  of  The  Christian  Register,  in  presenting 

*  The  more  prominent  names  are  herewith  g:iven  as  they  were  printed 
in  The  Christian  Register:  Joseph  Allen,  J.  H.  Allen,  S.  G.  Bulfinch, 
C.  F.  Barnard,  Charles  Briggrs,  W.  G.  Babcock,  C.  T.  Brooks,  Warren 
Burton,  C.  H.  Brigham,  Edgar  Buckingham,  William  H.  Cliamiing, 
James  F.  Clarke,  S.  B.  Cruft,  A.  H.  Conant,  C.  H.  A.  DaU,  R.  Ellis,  Con- 
verse Francis,  James  Flint,  William  H.  Fumess,  N.  S.  Folsom,  Frederick  A. 
Farley,  Frederick  T.  Gray,  Henry  Giles,  F.  D.  Huntington,  E.  B.  Hall, 
N.  Hall,  F.  H.  Hedge,  F.  Hinckley,  G.  W.  Hosmer,  F.  W.  HoUand, 
Thomas  Hill,  Sylvester  Judd,  James  Kendall,  William  H.  Knapp,  A.  A. 
Livermore,  S.  J.  May,  Samuel  May,  M.  I.  Mott,  A.  B.  Muzzey,  J.  F.  Moors, 
Henry  A.  Miles,  William  Newell,  J.  Osgood,  S.  Osgood,  Andrew  P. 
Peabody,  John  Parkman,  John  Pierpont,  Theodore  Parker,  Cyrus  Pierce, 
J.  H.  Perkins,  Cazneau  Palfey,  O.  W.  B.  Peabody,  Samuel  Ripley,  Chand- 
ler Robbins,  Caleb  Stetson,  Oliver  Steams,  Rufus  P.  Stebbins,  Edmund  Q. 
Sewall,  Charles  Sewall.  John  T.  Sargent,  George  F.  Simmons,  William 
Silsbee,  William  P.  Tilden,  J.  W.  Thompson,  John  Weiss,  Robert  T. 
Waterston,  William  Ware,  J.  F.  W.  Ware,  E.  B.  Willson,  Frederick  A. 
Whitney,  Jason  Whitman. 


362  UNITAEIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

it  to  the  public*,  "  is  written  with  great  clearness  of 
expression  and  moderation  of  spirit.  It  exhibits  un- 
equivocally and  distinctly  the  sentiments  of  the  nu- 
merous and  most  enlightened  body  of  clergy  whose 
names  are  attached  to  it,  as  well  as  many  other  ministers 
of  the  denomination  who  may  be  disinchned  to  act  con- 
jointly, or  do  not  feel  called  upon  to  act  at  all  m  any 
prescribed  way,  on  the  subject."  It  was  not  a  desire  to 
defend  slavery  that  kept  these  ministers  from  signing 
the  protest,  but  their  excessive  individuahsm,  and  their 
unwillingness  to  commit  the  denomination  to  opinions 
all  might  not  accept.  A  few  paragraphs  from  the  pro- 
test will  indicate  its  spirit  and  purpose :  — 

"  Especially  do  we  feel  that  the  denomination  which 
takes  for  its  motto  Liberty,  Holiness  and  Love  should  be 
foremost  m  opposing  this  system.  More  than  others 
we  have  contended  for  three  great  principles, —  indi- 
vidual Hberty,  perfect  righteousness,  and  human  brother- 
hood. All  of  these  are  grossly  violated  by  the  system 
of  slavery.  We  contend  for  mental  freedom ;  shall  we 
not  denounce  the  system  which  fetters  both  mind  and 
body?  We  have  declared  righteousness  to  be  the 
essence  of  Christianity  ;  shall  we  not  oppose  the  system 
which  is  the  sum  of  all  wrong?  We  claim  for  all  men 
the  right  of  brotherhood  before  a  universal  Father; 
ought  we  not  to  testify  against  that  which  tramples  so 
many  of  our  brethren  under  foot?" 

"  We,  therefore,  ministers  of  the  gospel  of  truth  and 
love,  in  the  name  of  God  the  universal  Father,  in  the 
name  of  Christ  the  Redeemer,  in  the  name  of  humanity 
and  human  brotherhood,  do  solemnly  protest  against  the 
system  of  slavery  as  unchristian  and  inhuman,"  "be- 

*  Printed  in  The  Christian  Register,  October  4, 1845. 


UNITARIANS    AND    REFORMS  363 

cause  it  is  a  violation  of  right,  being  the  sum  of  all  un- 
righteousness which  man  can  do  to  man,"  "  violates  the 
law  of  love,"  "degrades  man,  the  image  of  God,  into  a 
thing,"  "necessarily  tends  to  pollute  the  soul  of  the 
slave,"  "  to  defile  the  soul  of  the  master,"  "  restricts  edu- 
cation, keeps  the  Bible  from  the  slave,  makes  life  inse- 
cure, deprives  female  innocence  of  protection,  sanctions 
adultery,  tears  children  from  parents  and  husbands  from 
wives,  violates  the  divine  institutions  of  families,  and  by 
hard  and  hopeless  toil  makes  existence  a  burden,"  "  eats 
out  the  heart  of  nations  and  tends  every  year  more  and 
more  to  sear  the  popular  conscience  and  impair  the  vir- 
tue of  the  people." 

"  We  implore  all  Christians  and  Christian  preachers 
to  unite  in  unceasing  prayer  to  God  for  aid  against  this 
system,  to  leave  no  opportunity  of  speaking  the  truth 
and  spreading  the  light  on  this  subject,  in  faith  that  the 
truth  is  strong  enough  to  break  every  yoke."  "  And  we 
do  hereby  pledge  ourselves,  before  God  and  our  breth- 
ren, never  to  be  weary  of  laboring  in  the  cause  of  human 
rights  and  freedom  until  slavery  be  abolished  and  every 
slave  made  free." 

Although  many  ministers  and  laymen  took  the  posi- 
tion that  the  question  of  slavery  was  not  one  that  should 
receive  attention  in  the  meetings  of  the  Unitarian  Asso- 
ciation or  other  rehgious  organizations,  that  these  should 
be  kept  strictly  to  their  o^vn  special  purposes,  it  was  not 
possible  to  exclude  the  one  great  exciting  topic  of  the 
age.  How  persistently  it  intruded  itself  is  clearly  in- 
dicated in  words  used  by  Dr.  Bellows  at  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  Association,  in  1856.  "Year  after  year 
has  this  horrid  image  of  slavery  come  in  here,"  he  said, 
"  and  obtruded  itself  upon  our  concerns.     It  lins  jtre- 


364  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

vented  our  giving  attention  to  any  other  subject;  we 
could  not  keep  it  out  of  our  minds ;  and  why  is  that 
awful  crime  against  humanity  still  known  in  the  world, 
still  supported  and  active  in  this  age  of  Christendom, 
but  because  it  is  in  alliance  with  certain  views  of  theol- 
ogy with  which  we  are  at  war  ?  "  *  At  the  same  meet- 
ing strong  resolutions  of  sympathy  with  the  free  set- 
tlers of  Kansas,  and  with  Charles  Sumner  because  "  the 
barbarity  of  the  slave  power  had  attempted  to  silence 
him  by  brutal  outrage,"  were  unanimously  adopted,  f 
In  1857  the  subject  of  slavery  came  before  the  West- 
ern Conference  in  its  session  at  Alton.  The  most  un- 
compromising anti-slavery  resolutions  were  presented  at 
the  opening  of  the  meeting,  and  everything  else  was  put 
aside  for  their  consideration,  a  day  and  a  half  being  de- 
voted to  them.  The  opinion  of  the  majority  was,  in  the 
words  of  one  of  the  speakers,  that  slavery  is  a  crime  that 
"denies  millions  marital  and  parental  rights,  requires 
ignorance  as  a  condition,  encourages  licentiousness  and 
cruelty,  scars  a  country  all  over  with  incidents  that  ap- 
pall and  outrage  the  human  world."  Dr.  W.  G.  Eliot, 
of  St.  Louis,  and  others,  thought  it  not  expedient  to  press 
the  subject  to  an  issue,  though  he  regarded  slavery  in 
much  the  same  way  as  did  the  other  members  of  the 
conference.  When  the  conference  finally  took  issue 
with  slavery,  he  and  his  delegates  withdrew  from  its 
membership.  His  assistant,  Rev.  Carlton  A.  Staples, 
and  Rev.  John  H.  Heywood,  of  Louisville,  went  with 
the  majority.  A  committee  appointed  to  formulate  a 
statement  the  conference  could  accept  said  that  it  had 
no  right  to  interfere  with  the  freedom  of  action  of  indi- 
vidual churches  ;  but  it  recommended  them  to  do  all  they 

*  Quarterly  Journal,  III.  507.  t  Ibid.,  572. 


UNITARIANS   AND   REFORMS  365 

could  in  opposition  to  slavery,  and  said  tliat  the  confer- 
ence was  of  one  mind  in  the  conviction  "  that  slavery  is 
an  evil  doomed  by  God  to  pass  away."  This  report  was 
accepted  by  the  conference  with  only  one  opposing 
vote.*  When  the  j-ear  1860  had  arrived,  Unitarians 
were  practically  unanimous  in  their  condemnation  of 
slavery. 

When  the  names  of  individual  Unitarians  who  took 
an  active  part  in  the  anti-slavery  movement  are  given, 
it  is  at  once  seen  how  important  was  the  influence  of 
the  denomination.  Early  in  the  century  Rev.  Noah 
Worcester  uttered  his  word  of  protest  against  slavery. 
Rev.  Charles  FoUen  joined  the  Massachusetts  Anti- 
slavery  Society  in  the  second  year  of  its  existence,  and 
no  nobler  champion  of  liberty  ever  lived.  If  Dr.  Chan- 
ning  was  slow  in  applying  his  Christian  ideal  of  liberty 
to  slavery,  there  can  be  no  question  that  his  influence 
was  powerful  on  the  right  side,  and  all  the  more  so 
because  of  his  gentle  and  etliical  interpretation  of  in- 
dividual and  national  duty.  His  various  publications 
on  the  subject,  his  identification  of  himself  with  the 
abolitionists  by  joining  their  ranks  in  the  Massachusetts 
State  House  in  1836,  his  speech  in  Faneuil  Hall  in 
protest  against  the  killing  of  Lovejoy  in  Alton  during 
the  same  year,  exerted  a  great  influence  in  behalf  of 
abolition  throughout  the  North.  It  is  only  necessary 
to  mention  John  Pierpont,  Theodore  Parker,  William 
H.  Furness,  William  H.  Channing,  William  Goodell, 
Theodore  D.  Weld,  Ichabod  Codding,  Caleb  Stetson, 
and  M.  D.  Conway  in  order  to  recognize  their  uncom- 
promising fidelity  to  the  cause  of  freedom.     Only  less 

♦Unity,  Sept.  4,  1886,  Mrs.  S.  C.  LI.  Jones,  Historic  Unitarianism  in 
the  West. 


366  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

devoted  were  such  men  as  Charles  Lowell,  Nahor  A. 
Staples,  Sylvester  Judd,  Nathaniel  Hall,  Thomas  T. 
Stone,  O.  B.  Frothingham,  Abiel  A.  Livermore,  Samuel 
Johnson,  Samuel  Longfellow,  Thomas  J.  Mumford,  and 
many  others. 

Samuel  J.  May  and  his  cousin,  Samuel  May,  were 
both  employed  by  the  Massachusetts  Anti-slavery 
Society.  From  1847  until  1865  the  latter  was  the 
general  agent  of  that  organization;  and  his  assistant 
was  another  Unitarian  minister,  Robert  F.  Walcutt. 
James  Freeman  Clarke,  though  settled  at  Louisville 
from  1833  to  1840,  was  opposed  to  slavery;  and  in 
the  pages  of  The  Western  Messenger,  of  which  he  was 
publisher  and  editor,  he  took  every  occasion  to  press 
home  the  claims  of  emancipation.  John  G.  Palfrey 
emancipated  the  slaves  that  came  into  his  possession 
from  his  father's  estate,  insisting  on  receiving  them  for 
that  purpose,  though  the  opportunity  was  given  liim  to 
accept  other  property  in  their  stead.  In  accordance 
with  this  action  was  his  attitude  toward  slavery  in  the 
pulpit  and  on  the  platform,  as  well  as  when  he  was  a 
member  of  the  lower  house  of  Congress. 

Of  Unitarian  laymen  who  were  loyal  to  the  ideal  of 
freedom,  the  list  may  properly  open  with  the  name  of 
Josiah  Quincy,  afterwards  mayor  of  Boston  and  presi- 
dent of  Harvard  College,  who  began  as  early  as  1804 
his  opposition  to  slavery,  and  carried  it  faithfully  into 
his  work  as  a  member  of  the  national  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives soon  after.  The  fidelity  of  John  Quincy 
Adams  to  freedom  during  many  years  is  known  to 
every  one,  and  liis  service  in  the  national  House  has 
given  him  a  foremost  place  in  the  company  of  the  anti- 
slavery  leaders.      Not   less   loyal   was   the    service   of 


UNITARIANS   AND   EEFORMS  367 

Charles  Sunuier,  Horace  Mann,  John  P.  Hale,  George 
W.  Julian,  John  A.  Andrew,  Samuel  G.  Howe,  Henry 
I.  Bowditch,  William  I.  Bowditch,  Thomas  W.  Higgin- 
son,  George  F.  Hoar,  Ebenezer  R.  Hoar,  George  S. 
Boutwell,  and  Henry  B.  Anthony.  Of  the  poets  the 
anti-slavery  reform  had  the  support  of  Longfellow, 
Lowell,  Bryant,  and  Emerson.  The  Unitarian  women 
were  also  zealous  for  freedom.  The  loyalty  of  Lydia 
Maria  Child  is  well  known,  as  are  the  sacrifices  she 
made  in  pubhshing  her  early  anti-slavery  books.  Lu- 
cretia  Mott,  of  the  Unitarian  branch  of  the  Friends, 
was  a  devoted  supporter  of  the  anti-slavery  cause. 
Mrs.  Maria  W.  Chapman  was  one  of  the  most  faitliful 
supporters  of  Garrison,  doing  more  than  any  one  else 
to  give  financial  aid  to  the  anti-slavery  reform  move- 
ment in  its  earlier  years.  With  these  women  deserve 
to  be  mentioned  Eliza  Lee  FoUen,  Angelina  Grimke 
Weld,  Lucy  Stone,  and  many  more. 

A  considerable  group  of  persons  who  had  been 
trained  in  evangelical  churches  became  essentially  Uni- 
tarians as  a  result  of  the  anti-slavery  agitation.  Of 
these  may  be  mentioned  William  Lloyd  Garrison, 
Gerrit  Smith,  Beriah  Green,  Joshua  R.  Giddings, 
Myron  Holley,  Theodore  D.  Weld,  and  Francis  W. 
Bird.  Of  the  first  four  of  these  men,  George  W.  Julian 
has  said :  "  They  were  theologically  reconstructed 
tln'ough  their  unselfish  devotion  to  humanity  and  the 
recreancy  of  the  churches  to  which  they  had  been  at- 
tached. They  were  less  orthodox,  but  more  Christian. 
Their  faith  in  the  fatherhood  of  God  and  the  brother- 
hood of  man  became  a  living  principle,  and  compelled 
them  to  reject  all  dogmas  which  stood  in  its  way."  * 

•Life  of  Joshua  R.  Giddings,  399. 


368  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  first  great  advocate  of 
"  the  riglits  of  women "  in  this  country 
The  Enfran-  ghoukl  have  been  the  Unitarian,  Margaret 
of  Women  Filler.  She  did  no  more  than  apply  what 
she  had  been  taught  in  religion  to  problems 
of  personal  duty,  professional  activity,  and  political 
obligations.  With  her  freedom  of  faith  and  liberty 
of  thought  meant  also  freedom  to  devote  her  life 
to  such  tasks  as  she  could  best  perform  for  the  good 
of  others.  It  was  inevitable  that  other  Unitarian 
women  should  follow  her  example,  and  that  many 
women,  trained  in  other  faiths,  having  come  to  accept 
the  doctrine  of  universal  political  rights,  should  seek  in 
Unitarianism  the  religion  consonant  with  their  individ- 
uality of  purpose  and  their  sense  of  human  freedom. 

Among  the  leaders  of  the  movement  for  the  enfran- 
chisement of  women  have  been  such  Unitarians  as  Eliz- 
abeth Cady  Stanton,  Susan  B.  Anthony,  Lucy  Stone, 
Julia  Ward  Howe,  Mary  A.  Livermore,  Maria  Weston 
Chapman,  Caroline  H.  Dall,  and  Louisa  M.  Alcott.  The 
first  pronounced  woman  suffrage  paper  in  the  country 
was  The  Una,  begun  at  Providence  in  1853,  with  Mrs. 
Caroline  H.  Dall  as  the  assistant  editor.  Among  other 
Unitarian  contributors  were  William  H.  Channing,  Eliz- 
abeth P.  Peabody,  Thomas  W.  Higginson,  Ednah  D. 
Cheney,  Amory  D.  Mayo,  Elizabeth  Oakes  Smith,  Lucy 
Stone,  and  Mrs.  E.  C.  Stanton.  The  next  important 
paper  was  The  Revolution,  begun  at  New  York  in 
1868,  with  Susan  B.  Anthony  as  publisher  and  Eliza- 
beth Cady  Stanton  and  Parker  Pillsbury  as  editors. 
Then  came  The  Woman's  Journal,  begun  at  Boston  in 
1870,  with  Mary  A.  Livermore,  Lucy  Stone,  Julia  Ward 
Howe,  T.  W.  Higginson,  and  Henry  B.  Blackwell,  all 
Unitarians,  as  the  editors. 


UNITARIANS   AND   REFORMS  369 

The  first  national  woman's  suffrage  meeting  was  held 
in  Worcester,  October  23  and  24,  1850 ;  and  among 
those  who  took  part  in  it  by  letter  or  personal  presence 
were  Emerson,  Alcott,  Higginson,  Pillsbury,  Samuel  J. 
jNIay,  William  H.  Charming,  WilHam  H.  Burleigh, 
Elizabeth  C.  Stanton,  Catherine  M.  Sedgwick,  Carohne 
Kirkland,  and  Lucy  Stone.  In  April,  1853,  when  the 
Constitution  of  Massachusetts  was  to  receive  revision, 
a  petition  was  presented,  asking  that  suffrage  should  be 
granted  to  women.  Of  twenty-seven  persons  signing  it, 
more  than  half  were  Unitarians,  including  Abby  May 
Alcott,  Lucy  Stone,  T.  W.  Higginson,  Anna  Q.  T.  Par- 
sons, Theodore  Parker,  William  I.  Bowditch,  Samuel  E. 
Sewall,  Ellis  Gray  Loring,  Charles  K.  Whipple,  and 
Thomas  T.  Stone.  Among  other  Unitarians  who  have 
taken  an  active  part  in  promoting  this  cause  have  been 
Lucretia  Mott,  Mary  Grew,  Caroline  M.  Severance, 
Celia  C.  Burleigh,  Angelina  Grimke  Weld,  and  Maria 
Giddings  Julian.  Of  men  there  have  been  Dr.  William  F. 
Channing,  James  F.  Clarke,  George  F.  Hoar,  George  W. 
Cui'tis,  Jolm  S.  Dwight,  John  T.  Sargent,  Samuel 
Johnson,  Samuel  Longfellow,  Octavius  B.  Frotliingham, 
Adin  Ballon,  George  W.  Julian,  Frank  B.  Sanborn,  and 
James  T.  Fields. 

Unitarians  have  been  amongst  the  first  to  recognize 
women  in  education,  Uterature,  the  professions,  and  in 
the  management  of  church  and  denominational  interests. 
At  the  convention  held  in  New  York  in  1865,  which 
organized  the  National  Conference,  no  women  appeared 
as  delegates ;  and  the  same  was  true  at  the  second 
session,  held  at  Syracuse  in  1866.  At  that  session 
Rev.  Thomas  J.  Mumford  moved  "that  our  churches 
shall  be  left  to  their  own  wishes  and  discretion  mth 


370  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

reference  to  the  sex  of  the  delegates  chosen  to  represent 
them  in  the  conference " ;  and  this  resolution  was 
adopted.  At  the  third  meeting,  held  at  New  York  in 
1868,  thirty-seven  women  appeared  as  delegates,  includ- 
ing Julia  Ward  Howe  and  Caroline  H.  Dall.  The  lay- 
delegates  to  the  session  held  at  Washington  in  1899 
numbered  four  hundred  and  two;  and,  of  these,  two 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  were  women. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Unitarian  Association 
in  1870,  Rev.  John  T.  Sargent  brought  forward  the 
subject  of  the  representation  of  women  on  its  board  of 
directors.  Dr.  James  F.  Clarke  made  a  motion  looking 
to  that  result,  which  was  largely  discussed,  much  oppo- 
sition being  manifested.  It  was  urged  by  many  that 
women  were  unfit  to  serve  in  a  position  demandhig  so 
much  business  capacity,  that  they  would  displace  capable 
men,  and  that  it  was  improper  for  them  to  assume 
so  public  a  duty.  Charles  Lowe,  James  F.  Clarke, 
John  T.  Sargent,  and  others  strongly  championed  the 
proposition,  with  the  result  that  Miss  Lucretia  Crocker 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  board.* 

The  first  woman  ordained  to  the  Unitarian  ministry 
was  Mrs.  Ceha  C.  Burleigh,  who  was  settled  over  the 
parish  in  Brooklyn,  Conn,,  October  5,  1871.  The  ser- 
mon was  preached  by  Rev.  John  W.  Chadwick,  and 
the  address  to  the  people  was  given  by  Mrs.  Juha 
Ward  Howe.  A  letter  was  read  from  Henry  Ward 
Beecher,  in  which  he  said  to  Mrs.  Burleigh:  "I  do 
cordially  beUeve  that  you  ought  to  preach.  I  think  you 
had  a  call  in  your  very  natiire."  Mrs.  Burleigh  contin- 
ued at  Brooklyn  for  less  than  three  years,  ill-health 
compelhng  her  to  resign. 

*  Memoir  of  Charles  Lowe,  486.  In  1901  four  of  the  eighteen  directors 
of  the  American  Unitarian  Association  were  women. 


UNITARIANS   AND   KEFORMS  371 

The  second  woman  to  enter  the  Unitarian  mmistry 
was  Miss  Mary  H.  Graves,  who  was  ordained  at  Mans- 
field, Mass.,  December  14,  1871.  She  was  subjected 
to  a  thorough  examination  ;  and  the  committee  reported 
"  that  her  words  have  commanded  our  thorough  respect 
by  their  freedom  and  clearness,  and  won  our  full 
sympathy  and  approval  by  their  earnest,  discreet,  and 
beautiful  spirit."  Mrs.  EKza  Tupper  Wilkes  was  or- 
dained by  the  Universalists  at  Rochester,  Minn.,  May 
2,  1871,  though  she  had  preached  for  two  or  three 
years  previously ;  and  she  subsequently  identified  her- 
self with  the  Unitarians.  Mrs.  Antoinette  Brown 
Blackwell  was  ordained  in  Central  New  York,  in  1853, 
by  the  Orthodox  Congregationalists ;  but  somewhat 
later  she  became   a  Unitarian. 

The  first  woman  to  receive  ordination  who  has  con- 
tinued without  interruption  her  ministerial  duties  was 
Miss  Mary  A.  Safford,  ordained  in  1880.  She  has 
held  every  official  position  in  connection  with  the 
Iowa  Unitarian  Association,  and  she  has  also  been  an 
officer  of  the  Western  Conference  and  a  director  of  the 
American  Unitarian  Association. 

Several  women  have  also  frequently  appeared  in 
Unitarian  pulpits  who  have  not  received  ordination  or 
devoted  themselves  to  the  ministry  as  a  profession. 
Among  these  are  Mrs.  Caroline  H.  Dall,  INIrs.  Julia 
Ward  Howe,  and  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Livermore.  In  1875 
Mrs.  Howe  was  active  in  organizing  the  Women's 
Ministerial  Conference,  which  met  in  the  Church  of  the 
Disciples,  and  brought  together  women  ministers  of 
several  denominations.  Of  this  conference  Mrs.  Howe 
was  for  many  years  the  president. 

In   most  Unitarian  churches  there  is  no  longer  any 


372  UNITAUIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

question  as  to  the  right  of  women  to  take  any  place 
they  are  individually  fitted  to  occupy.  On  denomi- 
national committees  and  boards,  women  sit  with  entire 
success,  their  fitness  for  the  duties  required  being  called 
in  question  by  no  one.  In  those  conferences  where 
women  have  for  a  number  of  years  been  actively  en- 
gaged in  the  work  of  the  ministry  they  are  received  on 
a  basis  of  perfect  equality  with  men,  and  the  sex 
question  no  longer  presents  itself  in  regard  to  official 
positions  or  any  other  ministerial  duty. 

The  first  advocate  of  the  reform  of  the  civil  service 

was  Charles  Sumner,  who  as  early  as 
R  form  December,    1847,  anticipated   its   methods 

in  a  series  of  articles  contributed  to  a 
Boston  newspaper.*  He  was  the  first  to  bring  this 
reform  before  Congress,  which  he  did  April  30,  1864, 
when  he  introduced  a  bill  to  provide  a  system  of  com- 
petitive examinations  for  admission  to  and  promotion 
in  the  civil  service,  which  made  merit  and  fitness  the 
conditions  of  employment  by  the  government,  and  pro- 
vided against  removal  without  cause.  This  bill  was 
drawn  by  Sumner  without  consultation  with  any  other 
person,  but  the  time  had  not  yet  arrived  when  it  could 
be  successfully  advocated. 

The  next  person  to  advocate  the  reform  of  the  civil 
service  in  Congress  was  Thomas  A.  Jenckes,  of  Rhode 
Island,  who  in  1867  brought  the  merit  system  forward 
in  the  form  of  a  report  from  the  joint  committee  on 
retrenchment,  which  reported  on  the  condition  of  the 
civil  service,  and  accompanied  its  report  with  a  bill  "  to 
regulate  the  civil  service  and  to  promote  its  efficiency." 
The  next  year  Mr.  Jenckes  made  a  second  report,  but 

*  Life,  III.  149. 


UNITAIUANS   AND   REFORMS  373 

it  was  not  until  1871  that  action  on  the  subject  was 
secured.*  George  W.  Curtis  says  that  at  first  he 
"pressed  it  upon  an  utterly  listless  Congress,  and  liis 
proposition  was  regarded  as  the  harmless  hobby  of  an 
amiable  man,  from  which  a  little  knowledge  of  practical 
politics  would  soon  dismount  him."f  Most  members  of 
Congress  thought  the  reform  a  mere  vagary,  and  that 
it  was  brought  forward  at  a  most  inopportune  time.  J 
Mr.  Jenckes  was  the  pioneer  of  the  reform,  according 
to  Curtis,  who  says  that  he  "  powerfully  and  vigorously 
and  alone  opened  the  debate  in  Congress.  §  He  drew 
the  amendment  to  the  appropriation  bill  in  1871  that 
became  the  law,  and  under  which  the  first  civil  service 
commission  was  appointed.  "  By  his  experience,  thor- 
ough knowledge,  fertility  of  resource  and  suggestion 
and  great  legal  ability,  he  continued  to  serve  with  as 
much  efficiency  as  modesty  the  cause  to  which  he  was 
devoted."  || 

One  of  the  first  persons  to  give  attention  to  this  sub- 
ject was  Dorman  B.  Eaton,  an  active  member  of  All 
Souls'  Church  in  New  York,  who  was  for  several  years 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  pohtical  reform  of  the 
Union  League  Club  of  New  York.  In  1866,  and  again 
in  1870  and  1875,  he  travelled  in  Europe  to  secure  in- 
formation in  regard  to  methods  of  civil  service.  The 
results  of  these  investigations  were  presented  in  his 
work  on  Civil  Service  in  Great  Britain,  a  report  made 
at  the  request  of  President  Hayes.  In  1873  he  was  ap- 
pointed a  member  of  the  Civil  Service  Commission  by 
President  Grant;  in  1883   he  was  the  chairman  of  the 

*  Life  of  Charles  Sumner,  IV.  11)1 ;  Works,  VII.  452. 

t  G.  W.  Curtis,  Orations  and  Addresses,  II.  30. 

t  Ibid.,  173.  §  Ibid.,  180.  ||  Ibid.,  223. 


374  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMEillCA 

committee  appointed  by  President  Arthur;  and  in  1885 
he  was  reappointed  by  President  Cleveland.  The  bill 
of  January,  1883,  which  firmly  established  civil  service 
by  act  of  Congress,  was  drawn  by  him.  He  was  a  de- 
voted worker  for  good  government  in  all  its  phases ;  and 
the  results  of  his  studies  of  the  subject  may  be  found  in 
his  books  on  The  Independent  Movement  in  New  York 
and  The  Government  of  Municipalities.  He  was 
described  by  George  Wilham  Curtis  as  "one  of  the 
most  conspicuous,  intelhgent,  and  earnest  friends  of 
reform."  * 

The  most  conspicuous  advocate  of  the  merit  system 
was  Mr.  George  William  Curtis,  another  New  York 
Unitarian,  who  was  the  chairman  of  the  Civil  Service 
Commission  of  1871.  In  1880  he  became  the  president 
of  the  New  York  Civil  Service  Reform  Association, 
a  position  he  held  until  his  death.  The  National  Civil 
Service  Reform  League  was  organized  at  Ne-svport  in 
August,  1881 ;  and  he  was  the  president  from  that  time 
as  long  as  he  lived.  His  annual  addresses  before  the 
league  show  his  devoted  interest  in  its  aims,  as  well 
as  his  eloquence,  intellectual  power,  and  political  in- 
tegrity.! In  an  address  before  the  Unitarian  National 
Conference,  in  1878,  Mr.  Curtis  gave  a  noble  exposi- 
tion and  vindication  of  the  reform  which  he  labored 
zealously  for  twelve  years  to  advance.^ 

It  has  been  justly  said  of  Mr.  Curtis  that  "  far  above 
the  pleasures  of  life  he  placed  its  duties ;  and  no  man 
could  have  set  himself  more  sternly  to  the  serious  work 

*  G.  W.  Curtis,  Orations  and  Addresses,  11. 458. 

t  See  Curtis's  Orations  and  Addresses,  II. ;  also,  his  Reports  as  civil 
service  commissioner,  and  various  addresses  before  the  Social  bcience 
Association. 

t  Edward  Gary,  Life  of  Curtis,  American  Men  of  Letters,  29i. 


UNITARIANS   AND   REFORMS  375 

of  citizenship.  The  national  struggle  over  slavery,  and 
the  re-establishment  of  the  Union  on  permanent  founda- 
tions enhsted  his  whole  nature.  In  the  same  spirit,  he 
devoted  his  later  years  to  the  overthrow  of  the  spoils 
system.  He  did  this  under  no  delusion  as  to  the  magni- 
tude of  the  undertaking.  Probably  no  one  else  compre- 
hended it  so  well.  He  had  studied  the  problem  pro- 
foundly, and  had  solved  every  difficulty,  and  could 
answer  every  cavil  to  his  own  satisfaction."  There  can 
be  no  question  that  "  his  name  imparted  a  strength  to 
the  movement  no  other  would  have  given."  Nor  can 
there  be  much  question  that  "  among  public  men  there 
was  none  who  so  won  the  confidence  of  sincere  and 
earnest  men  and  women  by  his  own  personahty.  The 
powers  of  such  a  character,  with  all  his  gifts  and  accom- 
plishments, was  what  Mr.  Curtis  brought  to  the  civil 
service  reform."* 

*  Greorge  William  Curtis  and  Civil  Service  Reform,  by  Sherman  S. 
Rogers,  in  Atlantic  Monthly,  January,  1893,  LXXI.  15. 


XVII. 

UNITARIAN    MEN   AND   WOMEN. 

Many  of  the  most  influential  Americans  have  been 
in  practical  accord  with  Unitarianism,  while  not  act- 
ually connected  with  Unitarian  churches.  They  have 
accepted  its  principles  of  individual  freedom,  the  Ta- 
tional  interpretation  of  religion,  and  the  necessity  of 
bringing  reUgious  behefs  into  harmony  with  modern 
science  and  philosophy.  Among  these  may  be  prop- 
erly included  such  men  as  Benjamin  Frankhn,  John 
Marshall,  Gerrit  Smith,  John  G.  Whittier,  William 
Lloyd  Garrison,  Andrew  D.  White,  and  Abraham  Lin- 
coln. Whittier  was  a  Friend,  and  White  an  Episcopa- 
lian; but  the  rehgion  of  both  is  acceptable  to  all  Uni- 
tarians. Marshall  was  undoubtedly  a  Unitarian  in  his 
intellectual  convictions,  and  he  sometimes  attended  the 
Unitarian  church  in  Washington ;  but  his  church  afQl- 
iations  were  with  the  EpiscopaHans.  John  C.  Callioun 
was  all  his  hfe  a  member  of  an  Episcopal  church  and  a 
communicant  in  it ;  but  he  frequently  attended  the  Uni- 
tarian church  in  Washington,  and  intellectually  he  dis- 
carded the  doctrines  taught  in  the  creeds  of  his  church. 

Lincoln  belonged  to  no  church,  and  had  no  interest 
in  the  forms  and  disputes  that  constitute  so  large  a  part 
of  outward  religion;  but  he  was  one  of  those  men 
whose  great  deeds  rest  on  a  basis  of  simple  but  pro- 
foundest  religious  conviction.  The  most  explicit  state- 
ment he  ever  made  of  his  faith  was  in  these  words :  "  I 
have  never   united    myself  to    any  church,  because    I 


UNITARIAN    MEN    AND   WOMEN  377 

have  found  difficulty  in  giving  my  assent,  without 
mental  reservation,  to  the  long,  complicated  statements 
of  Christian  doctrine  which  characterize  their  articles  of 
belief  and  confessions  of  faith.  When  any  church  will 
inscribe  over  its  altar,  as  its  sole  qualification  of  mem- 
bership, the  Saviour's  condensed  statement  of  both  law 
and  gospel,  '  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all 
thy  heart  and  with  all  thy  soul  and  with  all  thy  mind, 
and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself,'  that  church  will  I  join 
with  all  my  heart  and  all  my  soul."  *  This  declaration 
brings  Lincoln  into  fullest  harmony  with  the  position  of 
the  Unitarian  churches. 

The  intellectual  tendencies  of  the  eighteenth  century 
led  many  of  the  leading  Americans  to  discard 
Statesmen  ^^^^  Puritan  habit  of  mind  and  the  reli- 
gious beliefs  it  had  cherished.  An  intel- 
lectual revolt  caused  the  rejection  of  many  of  the  Prot- 
estant doctrmes,  and  a  poHtical  revolt  in  the  direction 
of  democracy  led  to  the  acceptance  of  religious  prin- 
ciples not  in  harmony  with  those  of  the  past.  Many 
Americans  shared  in  these  protests  who  did  not  openly 
break  with  the  older  faiths.  Washington  was  of  this 
class ;  for,  while  he  remained  outwardly  a  churchman, 
he  had  httle  mtellectual  or  practical  sympathy  with  the 
stricter  beliefs.  Franklin  was  thoroughly  of  the  Deistic 
faith  of  the  thinkers  of  England  and  France  in  his 
time.  These  tendencies  had  their  effect  upon  such 
men  as  Jolm  Adams,  Timothy  Pickering,  Joseph  Story, 
and  Theophilus  Parsons,  as  well  as  upon  Thomas  Jef- 
ferson and  William  Cranch.  They  showed  themselves 
with  especial  prominence  in  the  case  of  Jefferson,  who 
always  remained  outwardly  faithful  to  the  state  religion 

*  F.  B.  Carpenter,  Six  Months  in  the  White  House,  190. 


378  UNITAEIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

of  Virginia,  in  which  he  had  been  educated,  attended 
the  Episcoi^al  church  in  the  neighborhood  of  his  home, 
sometimes  joining  in  its  communion,  but  who  was,  nev- 
ertheless, intellectually  a  pronounced  Unitarian. 

With  Jefferson  his  Unitarianism  was  a  part  of  his  de- 
mocracy, for  he  was  consistent  enough  to  make  his  relig- 
ion and  his  poKtics  agree  with  each  other.  As  he  would 
have  kings  no  longer  rule  over  men,  but  give  pohtical 
power  into  the  hands  of  the  people,  so  in  rehgion  he 
would  put  aside  all  theologians  and  priests,  and  permit 
the  people  to  worship  in  their  own  way.  It  was  for  this 
reason  that  he  rejoiced  in  the  emancipating  work  of 
Charming,  of  which  he  wrote  in  1822,  "I  rejoice  that 
in  this  blessed  country  of  free  inquiry  and  belief,  which 
has  surrendered  its  creed  and  conscience  neither  to  kings 
nor  priests,  the  genuine  doctrine  of  only  one  God  is  re- 
viving ;  and  I  trust  there  is  not  a  young  man  now  hving 
who  will  not  die  a  Unitarian."  *  Jefferson's  revolt 
against  authority  was  tersely  expressed  in  his  declara- 
tion: "Had  there  never  been  a  commentator,  there 
never  would  have  been  an  infidel."  f  This  was  in  har- 
mony with  his  saying,  that  "  the  doctrines  of  Jesus  are 
simple  and  tend  all  to  the  happiness  of  man."  ^  It  also 
fully  agrees  with  the  claims  of  the  early  Unitarians  with 
regard  to  the  teachings  of  Jesus.  "  No  one  sees  with 
greater  pleasure  than  myself,"  he  wrote,  "  the  progress 
of  reason  in  its  advance  toward  rational  Christianity. 
When  we  shall  have  done  away  with  the  incomprehen- 
sible jargon  of  the  Trinitarian  arithmetic,  that  three  are 
one,  and  one  are  three ;  when  we  shall  have  knocked 

*  James  Parton,  Life  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  711. 

t  Charles  W.  Upham,  Life  of  Timothy  Pickering,  IV.  327. 

t  P.  L.  Ford's  edition  Jefferson's  Works,  X.  220. 


UNITARIAN   MEN    AND   WOMEN  379 

down  the  artificial  scaffolding  reared  to  mask  from  view 
the  simple  structure  of  Jesus ;  when,  in  short,  we  shall 
have  unlearned  everything  taught  since  his  day,  and  got 
back  to  the  pure  and  simple  doctrines  he  inculcated  — 
we  shall  then  be  truly  and  worthily  his  disciples ;  and 
my  opinion  is  that,  if  nothing  had  ever  been  added  to 
what  flowed  purely  from  his  lips,  the  whole  world  would 
at  this  day  have  been  Christian."  * 

However  mistaken  Jefferson  may  have  been  in  the 
historical  opinions  thus  expressed,  we  cannot  question 
the  smcerity  of  liis  beliefs  or  fail  to  recognize  that  he 
had  the  keenest  interest  in  whatever  gave  indication  of 
the  growth  of  a  rational  spirit  in  rehgion.  These  opin- 
ions he  shared  with  many  of  the  leadmg  men  of  his  time ; 
but  he  was  more  outspoken  in  their  utterance,  as  he  was 
more  consistent  in  holding  them.  That  Washington, 
though  remaining  an  Episcopalian,  was  in  fullest  accord 
with  Jefferson  m  his  principles  of  toleration  and  relig- 
ious freedom,  is  apparent  from  one  of  his  letters.  "  I  am 
not  less  ardent  in  my  wish,"  he  wrote,  "  that  you  may 
succeed  in  your  toleration  in  religious  matters.  Being 
no  bigot  myself  to  any  mode  of  worship,  I  am  disposed 
to  indulge  the  professors  of  Christianity  in  the  church 
with  that  road  to  heaven  which  to  them  shall  seem  the 
most  direct,  easiest,  and  least  liable  to  exception."  f 
Intellectually,  Franklin  was  a  Deist  of  essentially  the 
same  behefs  with  Jefferson,  as  may  be  seen  in  his  state- 
ment of  faith :  "  I  believe  in  one  God,  the  creator  of  the 
universe ;  that  he  governs  it  by  his  providence ;  that 
he  ought  to  be  worshipped ;  that  the  most  acceptable 
service  we  render  to  him  is  doing  good  to  his  other 

*Life  of  Pickering,  IV.  326. 

t  P.  L.  Ford,  The  True  George  Waahington,  81. 


380  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

children ;  that  the  soul  of  man  is  immortal,  and  will  be 
treated  with  justice  in  another  life  respecting  its  conduct 
in  this.  These  I  take  to  be  the  fundamental  points  in 
all  sound  religion.  As  to  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  I  think  his 
system  of  morals  and  his  religion,  as  he  left  them  to  us, 
the  best  the  world  ever  saw,  or  is  likely  to  see ;  but  I 
apprehend  it  has  received  various  corrupting  changes, 
and  I  have  some  doubts  of  his  divinity ;  though  it  is  a 
question  I  do  not  dogmatize  upon,  having  never  studied 
it."  *  Franklin  was  a  member  of  a  Unitarian  church 
in  London. 

The  church  in  Washiiagton,  not  having  been  popular 

or  of  fine  appointments,  has  been  a  test  of 
SomeRepre-  ^j^g  Unitarian  faith  of  those  frequenting 
Unitarians     ^^^    capital   city.      It   has    included   in   its 

congregation,  from  time  to  time,  such  men 
as  John  Adams,  John  Quincy  Adams,  f  John  Mar- 
shall, Joseph  Story,  Samuel  F.  Miller,  Millard  Fillmore, 
William  Cranch,  George  Bancroft,  Nathan  K.  Hall, 
James  Moore  Wayne,  and  Senators  Daniel  Webster, 
John  C.  Calhoun,  William  S.  Archer,  Henry  B.  An- 
thony, William  B.  Allison,  Timothy  O.  Howe,  Edward 
Everett,  Justin  S.  Morrill,  Charles  Sumner,  William  E. 
Chandler,  George  F.  Hoar,  and  John  P.  Hale.    William 

*P.  L.  Ford,  The  Many-sided  Franklin,  174.  See  Diary  of  Ezra  Stiles, 
III.  387. 

t  John  Quincy  Adams,  in  reply  to  a  question  about  the  church  in  Wash- 
ington, said  :  "  I  go  there  to  church,  although  1  am  not  decided  in  my  mind 
as  to  all  the  controverted  doctrines  of  religion."  Years  later  he  said  to  a 
preacher  in  the  Unitarian  church  at  Quincy  :  "  I  agree  entirely  with  the 
ground  you  took  in  your  discourse.  You  did  not  speak  of  any  particular 
class  of  doctrines  that  were  everlasting,  but  of  the  great,  fundamental  prin- 
ciples in  which  all  Christians  agree  ;  and  these,  I  think,  are  what  will  be 
permanent."  See  A.  B.  Muzzey,  Reminiscences  and  Memorials  of  the  Men 
of  the  Revolution  and  their  Families,  53. 


UNITARIAN    MEN    AND    WOMEN  381 

Winston  Seaton  and  Joseph  Gales,  once  prominent  in 
Washington  as  editors  and  pubHshers  of  The  National 
Intelligencer,  were  both  Unitarians. 

In  New  York  the  Unitarian  churches  have  had  among 
their  attendants  and  members  such  persons  as  William 
CuUen  Bryant,  Catherine  M.  Sedgwick,  Henry  D.  Sedg- 
wick, Henry  Wheaton,  Peter  Cooper,  George  William 
Cui'tis,  George  Ticknor  Curtis,  Moses  H.  Grinnell,  Dor- 
man  B.  Eaton,  and  Joseph  H.  Choate.  The  churches 
in  Salem  have  had  connected  with  them  such  men  as 
Jolin  Prince,  Nathaniel  Bowditch,  Benjamin  Peirce, 
Timothy  Pickering,  John  Pickering,  Leverett  Salton- 
stall,  Joseph  Story,*  Jones  Very,  William  H.  Prescott, 
and  Nathaniel  Hawthorne.f 

*  William  W.  Story,  Life  and  Letters  of  Joseph  Story,  57,  93.  Joseph 
Story  grew  away  from  Calvinism  in  early  manhood,  and  accepted  a  hu- 
man! taiian  view  of  the  nature  of  Christ.  "  No  man  was  ever  more  fr^e 
from  a  spirit  of  bigotry  and  proselytism,"  says  his  biographer.  "  He  gladly 
allowed  every  one  freedom  of  belief  and  claimed  only  that  it  should  be  a 
genuine  conviction  and  not  a  mere  theologic  opinion,  considering  the 
true  faith  of  every  man  to  be  the  necessary  exponent  of  his  nature,  and 
honoring  a  religious  life  more  than  a  formal  creed.  He  admitted  within 
the  pale  of  salvation  Mohammedan  and  Christian,  Catholic  and  infidel. 
He  believed  that  whatever  is  sincere  and  honest  is  recognized  by  God  — 
that  as  the  views  of  any  sect  are  but  human  opinion,  susceptible  of  error 
on  every  side,  it  behooves  all  men  to  be  on  their  guard  against  an-ogance  of 
belief  —  and  that  in  the  sight  of  God  it  is  not  the  truth  or  falsehood  of  our 
views,  but  the  spirit  in  which  we  believe  which  alone  is  of  vital  conse- 
quence. His  moral  sense  was  not  satisfied  with  a  theory  of  religion  founded 
upon  the  depravity  of  man  and  recognizing  an  austere  and  vengeful  God, 
nor  could  he  give  his  metaphysical  assent  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity. 
In  the  doctrines  of  liberal  Christianity  he  found  the  resolution  of  hia 
doubts,  and  from  the  moment  he  embraced  the  Unitarian  faith  he  became 
a  warm  and  imhesitating  believer." 

t  For  an  interesting  picture  of  New  England  Unitarianisra  see  Recol- 
lections of  my  Mother  (Mrs.  Anne  Jean  Lj'man),  by  Mrs.  J.  P.  Lesley. 
Mi-s.  Lyman's  home  v»as  in  Northampton,  Mass,  The  Reminiscences  of 
Caroline  C.  Briggs  describe  life  in  the  same  town  and  under  similar  con- 
ditions. Also  Memoir  of  Mary  L.  Ware,  Memorial  of  Joseph  and  Lucy 
Clark  Allen  by  their  Children,  and  Life  of  Dr.  Samuel  Willard. 


382  UNITAEIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

During  the  early  Unitarian  period  "  the  judges  on  the 

bench  "  included  such  men   as   Theophilus 

ju  gesa  Parsons,  Isaac  Parker,  and  Lemuel  Shaw,  all 
Legislators.  '  '     ■  ' 

of  whom  held  the  oifice  of  chief  justice  in 

Massachusetts.  Other  lawyers,  jurists,  and  statesmen 
were  Fisher  Ames,  political  orator  and  statesman ; 
Nathan  Dane,  who  drew  the  ordinance  for  the  north- 
western territory;  Samuel  Dexter,  senator,  and  secre- 
tary of  the  treasury  under  John  Adams ;  Christopher 
Gore,  senator,  and  governor  of  Massachusetts;  and 
Benjamin  R.  Curtis,  of  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court.  Other  chief  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Massachusetts  have  been  George  T.  Bigelow,  Jolm 
Wells,  Pliny  Myrick,  Walbridge  A.  Field,  Charles 
Allen ;  and  of  associates  in  that  court  have  been 
Ebenezer  Rockwood  Hoar,  Benjamin  F.  Thomas,  Seth 
Ames,  Samuel  S.  Wilde,  Levi  Lincoln,  and  John  Lowell. 
Among  the  governors  of  Massachusetts  have  been  Levi 
Lincoln,  Edward  Everett,  John  Davis,  John  H.  Clif- 
ford, John  A.  Andrew,  George  S.  Boutwell,  Jolm  D. 
Long,  Thomas  Talbot,  George  D.  Robinson,  J.  Q.  A. 
Brackett,  Oliver  Ames,  Frederic  T.  Greenhalge,  and 
Roger  Wolcott.  The  first  mayors  of  Boston,  John 
Phillips,  Josiah  Quiney,*  and  Harrison  Gray  Otis,  were 

*  Edmund  Qiiincy,  Life  of  Josiah  Quiney,  532.  In  a  speech  to  the  over- 
seers of  Harvard  University  in  1845,  Josiah  Quiney  said  :  "  I  never  did  and 
never  will  call  myself  a  Unitarian ;  because  the  name  has  the  aspect,  and  is 
loaded  by  the  world  with  the  imputation  of  sectarianism."  His  biog-rapher 
says  :  "  He  regarded  differences  as  of  slight  importance,  especially  as  to 
matters  beyond  the  grasp  of  the  human  intellect.  His  catholicity  of  spirit 
fraternized  with  all  who  profess  to  call  themselves  Christians,  and  who 
prove  their  title  to  the  name  by  their  lives."  It  was  precisely  this  catho- 
licity of  spirit  that  was  the  most  characteristic  feature  of  early  American 
Unitarianism,  and  not  the  rejection  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  How- 
ever, Josiah  Quiney  was  undoubtedly  a  Unitarian,  both  in  what  he  rejected 
and  in  what  he  affirmed,  as  may  be  seen  from  these  words  recorded  in  his 


UNITARIAN    MEN    AND    WOMEN  383 

Unitarians.  Then,  after  an  interval  of  one  year,  followed 
Samuel  A.  Eliot  and  Jonathan  Chapman. 

It  has  often  been  assumed  that  Unitarianism  attracts 
only  mtellectual  persons ;  but  it  also  appeals  to  practi- 
cal business  men,  legislators,  and  the  leaders  of  political 
life.  In  Maine  have  been  Vice-President  Hannibal 
Hamlin,  Governor  Edward  Kent,  and  Chief  Justice 
John  Appleton.  In  New  Hampshire  it  has  appealed  to 
such  men  as  Chief  Justices  Cushing,  Henry  A.  Bellows, 
Jeremiah  Smith,  and  Charles  Doe,  as  well  as  to  Gover- 
nors Onslow  Stearns,  Charles  H.  Bell,  Benjamin  F. 
Prescott,  and  Ichabod  Goodwin ;  in  Rhode  Island,  Gov- 
ernors Lippitt  and  Seth  Paddelford,  Chief  Justices  Sam- 
uel Ames  and  Samuel  Eddy,  General  Ambrose  E.  Burn- 
side,  and  William  B.  Weeden,  historian  and  economist. 
Alphonso  Taft  and  George  Hoadly,  both  governors  of 
Ohio,  were  Unitarians,  as  were  Austin  Blair,  John  T. 
Bagley,  Charles  S.  May,  and  Henry  H.  Crapo,  gov- 
ernors of  Michigan.  Among  the  prominent  Unitarians 
of  Iowa  have  been  Senator  William  B.  AlHson  and 
General  George  W.  McCrary.  In  California  may  be 
named  Leland  Stanford,  Horace  Davis,  Chief  Justice 
W.  H.  Beatty,  and  Oscar  L.  Shafter  of  the  Supreme 
Court. 

What  Unitarianism  has  been  in  the  Hves  of  its  men 
and  women  may  be  most  conspicuously  seen 
Unitarianism  ^^  Boston  and  the  region  about  it,  for  there 
throughout  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century  Unitarianism  was  the  dominant  form  of  Chris- 
diary  in  1854  :  "  From  the  doctrines  with  which  metaphysical  divines  have 
chosen  to  obscure  the  word  of  God, —  such  as  predestination,  election,  repro- 
bation, etc., —  I  turn  with  loathing  to  the  refreshing  assurance  which,  to  my 
mind,  contains  the  substance  of  revealed  religion, —  in  every  nation  he  who 
feareth  God,  and  worketh  righteousness,  is  accepted  of  him." 


384  UNITAKIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

tianity.  Of  the  period  from  1826  to  1832,  when  Dr. 
Lyman  Beecher  was  settled  in  Boston,  Mrs.  Stowe  has 
given  this  testimony :  "  All  the  literary  men  of  Massa- 
chusetts were  Unitarians.  All  the  trustees  and  profes- 
sors of  Harvard  College  were  Unitarians.  All  the  ehte 
of  wealth  and  fashion  crowded  Unitarian  churches.  The 
judges  on  the  bench  were  Unitarian,  giving  decisions  by 
which  the  peculiar  features  of  church  organization,  so 
carefully  ordained  by  the  Pilgrim  fathers,  had  been  nul- 
lified." *  Of  the  same  period  Dr.  Beecher  wrote,  "All 
offices  were  in  the  hands  of  Unitarians."  f 

These  statements  were  literally  true,  except  in  so  far 
as  they  implied  that  Unitarians  used  high  positions  in 
order  to  overthrow  the  old  institutions  of  Massachusetts 
and  substitute  those  of  their  own  devising.  The  calmer 
judgment  of  the  present  day  would  not  accept  this  con- 
clusion, and  it  has  no  historic  foundation.  The  relig- 
ious development  of  Boston  brought  its  churches  into 
the  acceptance  of  a  tolerant,  rational,  and  practical  form 
of  Christianity,  that  was  not  dogmatic  or  sectarian.  It 
took  the  Unitarian  name,  but  only  in  the  sense  of  reject- 
ing the  harsher  interpretations  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity  and  of  election.  The  members  of  the  Unitarian 
churches  during  this  period  were  devout  in  an  unostenta- 
tious manner,  pious  after  a  simple  fashion,  loyal  Chris- 
tians without  excess  of  zeal,  lovers  of  liberty,  but  in  a 
conservative  spirit.  This  simple  form  of  piety  enabled 
the  men  who  accepted  it  to  govern  the  state  in  a  most 
faitliful  manner.  They  managed  its  affairs  justty, 
wisely,  and  in  the  true  intent  of  economy.  Sometimes 
it  was  complained  that  they  held  a  much  larger  number 

*  Autobiography,  Correspondence,  etc.,  of  Lyman  Beecher,  U.  109. 
t  Ibid.,  144. 


UNITARIAN    MEN    AND    WOMEN  385 

of  offices  than  was  their  proportion  according  to  popula- 
tion ;  but  to  this  John  G.  Palfrey  replied  that  the  people 
of  the  state  had  confidence  in  them,  and  elected  them 
because  nobody  else  governed  so  \vell% 

With  the  aid  of  the  biography  of  James  Sullivan, 
judge,  legislator,  attorney-general,  and  diplomatist,*  we 
may  study  the  constituency  of  a  single  church  in  Bos- 
ton, the  Brattle  Street  Church.  We  find  there  James 
Bowdoin  and  John  Hancock,  rival  candidates  for  the 
position  of  governor  of  the  state  in  1785.  The  same 
rivalry  occurred  twenty  years  later  between  James 
Sullivan  and  Caleb  Strong,  both  of  the  number  of  its 
communicants.  On  the  parish  committee  of  this  church 
at  one  time  were  Hancock,  Bowdoin,  and  SulUvan,  who 
became  governors  of  the  state,  and  Judges  Wendell  and 
John  Lowell. f  Some  years  later  there  were  included  in 
the  congregation  such  men  as  Daniel  Webster,  Harrison 
Gray  Otis,  Abbott  Lawi'ence,  and  Amos  Lawrence,  who 
was  one  of  the  deacons  for  many  years. 

Of  the  distinguished  business  men  of  Boston  may  be 
named  John  Amory  Lowell,  John  C.  Amory,  Jonathan 
Phillips  (the  confidential  friend  and  supporter  of  Dr. 
Channmg),  Thomas  Wigglesworth,  J.  Huntmgton  Wol- 
cott,  Augustus  Hemenway,  Stephen  C.  Phillips,  and 
Thomas  Tileston.  Francis  Cabot  Lowell  was  largely 
concerned  in  building  up  the  manufacturing  interests  of 
Massachusetts,  especially  the  cotton  industry ;  and  the 

*  Thomas  C.  Amory,  Life  of  James  Sullivan. 

t  John  Lowell,  a  son  of  Judge  John  Lowell,  and  a  brother  of  Dr. 
Charles  Lowell  of  the  West  Church,  was  the  author  of  an  effective  contro- 
versial pamphlet  entitled  Are  you  a  Christian  or  a  Calvinist  ?  Or  do  you 
prefer  the  Authoiity  of  Christ  to  that  of  tlie  (Jenevan  Reformer  ?  Both  the 
Form  and  Spirit  of  these  Questions  being  suggested  by  the  Late  Review  of 
American  Unitarianism  in  The  Panoplist,  and  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Worcester's 
Letter  to  Mr.  Channing.    By  a  Layman.    Boston,  1815. 


286     .  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

At  the  National  Conference  session  of  1878,  held  at 

Saratoga,  where  much  enthusiasm  had 
Women's  Auxiliary      ,  i  j    -^  ^   j  ^^    j. 

qq  f      r  "^®^  awakened,  it  was  suggested  that 

the  women,  who  had  been  hitherto 
listeners  only,  should  take  an  active  part  in  denomina- 
tional work.  At  a  gathering  in  the  parlor  of  the 
United  States  Hotel,  called  by  Mrs.  Charles  G.  Ames, 
Mrs.  Fielder  Israel,  Mrs.  J.  P.  Lesley,  and  one  or  two 
others,  a  plan  of  action  was  adopted  that  led,  in  1880, 
to  the  formation  of  the  Women's  Auxiliary  Conference. 
The  aim  of  this  organization  was  to  quicken  the  re- 
ligious life  of  the  churches,  to  stimulate  local  charitable 
and  missionary  undertakings,  and  to  raise  money  for 
missionary  enterprises ;  but  its  work  was  to  be  done  in 
connection  with  the  National  Conference,  and  not  as  an 
independent  organization.  The  purpose  was  stated  in  a 
circular  sent  to  the  churches  immediately  after  the  organ- 
ization was  effected.  "  Hitherto,"  it  was  said,  "  women 
have  not  been  specially  represented  upon  the  board 
of  the  National  Conference,  and  have  not  fully  recog- 
nized how  helpful  they  might  be  in  its  various  under- 
takings or  how  much  they  themselves  might  gain  from 
a  closer  relation  with  it.  But  the  time  has  now  come 
when  our  service  is  called  for  in  the  broad  field,  and 
also  when  we  feel  the  need  of  being  at  work  there ;  for 
our  faith  in  the  great  truths  of  religion  is  no  less  vital 
than  that  of  our  brethren ;  and  since  the  service  we  can 
render,  being  different  from  theirs,  is  needed  to  supple- 
ment it,  and  because  it  is  pecuharly  women's  service, 
we  must  do  it,  or  it  will  be  left  undone.  It  is  one  of 
the  glories  of  such  a  work  as  ours  that  there  is  need  and 
room  in  it  for  the  best  effort  of  every  individual ;  in- 
deed, without  the  faithful  service  of  all  it  must  be  in- 
complete." 


women's   alliance   and   its   rREDECESSOKS      287 

111  1890,  after  ten  years  of  active  existence,  the 
conference  had  about  eighty  branches,  with  a  mem- 
bership of  between  3,000  and  4,000  women.  Much  of 
the  success  of  the  conference  was  due  to  its  president, 
Abby  W.  May.  Miss  May  was  well  known  as  a 
pliilanthropist  and  educator,  and  had  occupied  many 
prominent  positions  before  she  assumed  the  presidency 
of  the  auxiliary ;  but  this  was  her  first  active  work  in 
connection  with  the  denomination. 

Admirable  as  were  the  aims,  and  excellent  as  was  the 

work  of  this  organization,  it  was  auxiliary 

.„.  to  the  National  Conference,  and  had  no  in- 

Alliance.  ' 

dependent  life.  After  the  first  enthu- 
siasm was  past,  it  failed  to  gain  ground  rapidly,  the 
membership  remaining  nearly  stationary  during  the 
last  few  years  of  its  existence.  As  time  went  on,  there- 
fore, it  became  evident  that  a  more  complete  organiza- 
tion was  needed  in  order  to  arouse  enthusiasm  and 
to  secure  the  loyalty  of  the  women  of  all  parts  of  the 
country.  The  New  York  League  of  Unitarian  Women, 
including  those  of  New  York,  Brooklyn,  and  New 
Jersey,  organized  in  1887,  showed  the  advantages  of  a 
closer  union  and  a  more  definite  purpose ;  and  the  de- 
sire to  bring  into  one  body  all  the  various  local  orga- 
nizations hastened  the  change.  It  was  seen  that,  in 
the  multiplication  of  organizations,  there  was  danger 
of  wasting  the  energies  used,  and  that  one  efficient 
body  was  gi-eatly  to  be  desired. 

In  May,  1888,  a  committee  was  formed  for  the  pm-- 
pose  of  di-afting  a  constitution  for  a  new  association, 
"  to  which  all  existing  organizations  might  subscribe." 
The  constitution  provided  by  this  committee  was  adopted 
October  24,  1890,  and  the  new  organization  took  the 


388  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

conduct.  Speculative  theology  lie  cared  little  or  nothing 
about.  He  was  no  disputant,  no  doubter,  no  casuist; 
of  the  heights  of  mysticism,  of  the  depths  of  infidelity, 
he  knew  nothing.  He  was  conservative,  of  course,  from 
temperament  rather  than  from  inquiry.  He  took  the 
literal,  prose  view  of  Calvinism,  and  rejected  doctrines 
which  did  not  commend  themselves  to  his  common 
sense.  In  a  word,  he  was  a  Unitarian  of  the  old  school. 
.  .  .  The  Unitarian  laity  in  general,  both  men  and 
women,  had  a  genuine  desire  to  render  the  earthly  lot  of 
mankind  more  tolerable.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
they  started  every  one  of  our  best  secular  charities. 
They  were  exceedingly  Liberal  in  their  gifts  to  Harvard 
College,  and  to  other  colleges  as  well  —  for  they  were 
not  at  all  sectarian,  as  their  large  subscriptions  to  the 
Roman  Cathohc  cathedral  proved.  Whatever  tended 
to  exalt  humanity,  in  their  view,  was  encouraged.  They 
were  as  noble  a  set  of  men  and  women  as  ever  lived."* 
This  estimate  of  the  Unitarians  of  Boston  during  the 
first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  is  eminently  just  and 
accurate.  To  a  large  extent  these  men  and  their  asso- 
ciates in  the  Unitarian  chui'ches  gave  to  the  city  its 
worth  and  its  character ;  and  they  built  up  the  indus- 
tries, the  commerce,  the  educational  and  philanthropic 
interests,  and  the  progressive  legislation  of  Massachu- 
setts. They  were  men  of  integrity  and  sincerity,  who 
were  generous,  faitliful,  and  just.  They  accepted  the 
religion  of  the  spirit,  and  they  gave  it  expression  in 
daily  conduct  and  character. 

*  Boflton  Unitarianism,  93,  94,  101, 127. 


XVIII. 

UNITARIANS    AND   EDUCATION. 

The  interest  of  Unitarians  in  education  has  always 
been  very  great,  but  it  has  not  been  in  the  direction  of 
building  and  fostering  sectarian  institutions.  As  a  body, 
Unitarians  have  not  only  been  opposed  to  denomina- 
tional colleges,  but  they  have  been  leaders  in  promoting 
unsectarian  education.  Freedom  of  academic  teaching 
and  the  scientific  study  of  theology  may  be  found 
where  Unitarianism  has  no  existence,  and  yet  it  is 
significant  that  in  this  country  such  mental  liberty 
should  have  first  found  expression  under  Unitarian 
auspices.  From  the  first,  American  Unitarianism  has 
been  unsectarian  and  liberty-loving,  taking  an  attitude 
of  toleration,  free  investigation,  and  loyalty  to  truth. 
That  it  has  always  been  faithful  to  its  ideal  cannot  be 
maintained,  and  yet  its  history  shows  that  the  open- 
mindedness  and  the  spirit  of  freedom  have  never  been 
wholly  ignored. 

The  attitude  of  the  early  Unitarians  towards  the  Bible, 

their  trust  in  it  as  the  revealed  word  of 
Pioneers  of  the        r^     ■,         i    ,  i  p    t    •  .  i      • . 

Hieher  Criticism  ^  source  oi  divme  authority 

in  all  matters  of  faith,  and  their  confi- 
dence that  a  return  to  its  simple  principles  would 
liberate  men  from  superstition  and  bigotry,  naturally 
made  them  the  first  to  welcome  the  higher  criticism  of 
the  Bible  in  this  country.  Such  men  as  Noali  Worces- 
ter and  his  successors  brought  to  the  Bible  new  and 
common-sense  interpretations,  and  began  the  work  of 


390  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

pointing  out  tlie  defects  in  the  common  version.  The 
Unitarians  were  not  hampered  by  the  theory  of  the 
verbal  infallibility  of  the  Bible  ;  and  they  were  therefore 
prepared  to  advance  the  critical  work  of  the  scholars, 
as  it  came  to  them  from  England  and  Germany,  as  was 
no  other  religious  body  in  this  country. 

Joseph  S.  Buckminster  was  an  enthusiastic  student 
of  the  Bible,  securing  when  in  Europe  all  the  apparatus 
of  the  more  advanced  criticism  that  could  then  be  pro- 
cured ;  and  after  his  return  to  Boston  he  gave  his  at- 
tention to  bringing  out  tlie  New  Testament  in  the  most 
scholarly  form  that  was  then  possible.  In  1808,  in 
connection  with  WilHam  Wells,  and  under  the  patron- 
age of  Harvard  College,  he  republished  Griesbach's 
Greek  Testament,  with  a  selection  of  the  most  impor- 
tant various  readings.  He  also  formed  a  plan  of  pub- 
lishing in  this  country  all  the  best  modern  English 
versions  of  the  Hebrew  prophets,  with  introductions 
and  notes ;  but  he  did  not  find  the  necessary  support 
for  this  project.  In  The  Monthly  Anthology  and  in  The 
General  Repository  he  "  first  discussed  subjects  of  Bibli- 
cal criticism  in  a  spirit  of  philosophical  and  painstaking 
learning,  .and  took  the  critical  study  of  the  Scriptures 
from  the  old  basis  on  which  it  had  rested  during  the 
Armuiian  discussions  and  placed  it  on  the  solid  founda- 
tion of  the  text  of  the  New  Testament  as  settled  by 
Wetstein  and  Griesbach,  and  elucidated  by  the  labors  of 
Michaelis,  Marsh,  Rosenmiiller,  and  by  the  safe  and  wise 
learning  of  Grotius,  Le  Clerc,  and  Simon."  "  It  has," 
wrote  George  Ticknor,  "  in  our  opinion,  hardly  been  per- 
mitted to  any  other  man  to  render  so  considerable  a 
service  as  this  to  Christianity  in  the  western  world."* 

•Christian  Examiner,  XLVII.  186;  Mrs.  E.  B.  Lee,  Memoirs  of  the 
Buekniinsters,  325. 


UNITARIANS   AND   EDUCATION  391 

In  1811  Mr.  Buckminster  was  made  the  first  lecturer  in 
Biljlical  criticism  at  Harvard,  on  the  foundation  estab- 
lished by  the  gift  of  Samuel  Dexter;  and  he  entered 
with  great  interest  and  enthusiasm  upon  the  work  of 
preparing  for  the  duties  of  this  office.  We  are  assured 
that  "  this  appointment  was  universally  thought  to  be 
an  honor  most  justly  due  to  his  pre-eminent  attainments 
in  this  science  "  ;  *  but  his  death  the  next  year  brought 
these  plans  to  an  untimely  end. 

To  some  extent  the  critical  work  of  Buckminster  was 
continued  by  Edward  Everett,  his  successor  in  the  Brat^ 
tie  Street  Church.  Mr.  Everett's  successor  in  that  pul- 
pit, Rev.  John  G.  Palfrey,  became  the  professor  of  sacred 
literature  in  the  Harvard  Divinity  School  in  1831,  and 
was  the  dean  of  that  institution.  In  his  lectures  on  the 
Jewish  Scriptures  and  Antiquities,  published  in  four 
volumes,  from  1833  to  1852,  he  gave  the  most  advanced 
criticism  of  the  time.  A  more  important  work  was  done 
by  Professor  Andrews  Norton,  who  was  as  radical  in  his 
labors  as  a  Biblical  critic  as  he  was  conservative  in  his 
theology.  For  the  time  when  they  were  published,  his 
Statement  of  Reasons,  the  first  edition  of  which  appeared 
in  1819,  Historical  Evidences  of  the  Genuineness  of 
the  Gospels,  1837-44,  Translation  of  the  Gospels,  with 
Notes,  1855,  Internal  Evidences  of  the  Genuineness  of 
the  Gospels,  1855,  have  not  been  surpassed  by  any  other 
work  done  in  this  country.  As  a  scholar,  he  was  care- 
ful, thorough,  honest,  and  uncompromising  in  his  search 
for  the  truth.  In  an  extended  note  added  to  the  second 
volume  of  his  work  on  the  Genuineness  of  the  Gospels 
he  investigated  the  origin  of  the   Pentateuch   and  the 

*  Memoir  of  Buckminster,  iutroduetory  to  his  Sermons,  published  in 
1814,  xxxii. 


392  UNITAEIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

validity  of  its  historical  statements.  He  showed  that 
the  work  could  not  have  been  written  by  Moses,  that  it 
was  a  compilation  from  prior  accounts,  and  that  its  mar- 
vels were  not  to  be  accepted  as  authentic  history.*  In 
dealing  with  the  New  Testament,  Professor  Norton  dis- 
carded the  first  two  chapters  of  Matthew,  regarding 
them  as  later  additions.  Frothingham  speaks  of  Norton 
as  "  an  accomplished  and  elegant  scholar,"  and  says  that 
his  interpretations  of  the  Bible  were  by  Unitarians 
"tacitly  received  as  final."  "He  was  the  great  author- 
ity, as  bold,  fearless,  trutliful,  as  he  was  exact  and  care- 
ful." f  Although  these  words  of  praise  intimate  that 
Unitarians  were  too  ready  to  accept  the  conclusions  of 
Professor  Norton  as  needing  no  emendation,  yet  his  work 
was  searching  in  its  character  and  thoroughly  sincere  in 
its  methods.  Considering  the  general  attitude  of  schol- 
arship in  his  day,  it  was  bold  and  uncompromising,  as 
well  as  accurate  and  just. 

Another  scholar  was  George  Rapall  Noyes,  who  was 
a  country  pastor  in  Brookfield  and  Petersham  from 
1827  to  1840,  and  devoted  his  leisure  to  Biblical  stud- 
ies. He  became  the  professor  of  Hebrew  and  lecturer 
on  Biblical  Literature  in  the  Harvard  Divinity  School 
in  1840.  His  translations,  with  notes,  of  the  poetical 
books  of  the  Old  Testament,  beginning  with  Job  in 
1827,  were  of  great  importance  as  aids  to  the  interpreta- 
tion of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  His  translation  of  the 
New  Testament,  which  appeared  after  his  death,  in 
1868,  gave  the  best  results  of  critical  studies  in  homely 
prose,    and    with  painstaking   fidelity  to    the    original. 

*The  Pentateuch  and  its  Relation  to  the  Jewish  and  Christian  Dispen- 
sation. By  Andrews  Norton.  Edited  by  John  James  Tayler,  London, 
1863.     This  was  the  Note,  with  introduction. 

t  Boston  Uuitarianism,  244. 


UNITARIANS    AND    EDUCATION  393 

That  Noyes  was  in  advance  of  the  criticism  of  his  time 
may  be  indicated  by  the  fact  that,  when  he  published  his 
conclusions  in  regard  to  the  Messianic  prophecies  in 
1834,*  he  was  threatened  with  an  indictment  for  blas- 
phemy by  the  attorney-general  of  Massachusetts.  Better 
judgment  prevailed  against  this  attempt  to  coerce  opin- 
ion, but  that  such  an  indictment  was  seriously  consid- 
ered shows  how  Uttle  genuine  criticism  there  was  then 
in  existence.  What  are  now  the  commonplaces  of 
scholarship  were  then  regarded  as  destructive  and  blas- 
phemous. Noyes  said  that  the  truth  of  the  Christian 
religion  does  not  in  any  sense  depend  upon  the  literal 
fulfilment  of  any  predictions  in  the  Old  Testament  by 
Jesus  as  a  person. f  He  said  that  the  apostles  partook 
of  the  errors  and  prejudices  of  their  age,  J  that  the  com- 
monly received  doctrine  of  the  inspiration  of  the  whole 
Bible  is  a  millstone  about  the  neck  of  Christianity,  §  and 
that  the  Bible  contains  much  that  cannot  be  regarded  as 
revelation.  II  Even  as  early  as  1835  these  opinions  were 
generally  accepted  by  Unitarians ;  and  they  were  not 
thought  to  impair  the  true  worth  of  the  spiritual  revela- 
tion contained  in  the  Bible,  and  especially  not  the  divine 
nature  of  the  teachings  of  Christ.  It  was  very  impor- 
tant, as  Dr.  Joseph  Henry  Allen  has  said,  in  speaking  of 
Norton  and  Noyes,  that  "  these  decisive  first  steps  were 
taken  by  deliberate,  conscientious,  conservative  scholars, 
—  the  best  and  soberest  scholars  we  had  to  show."  ^ 

The  work  of  Ezra  Abbot  especially  deserves  notice 
here,  because  of  "  the  variety  and  extent  of  his  learning, 
the  retentiveness  and  accuracy  of  his  memory,  the  pene- 

*  Hengstenberg's  Christology,  Christian  Examiner,  July,  1834,  XVI.  321. 
t  Ibid.,  327.        t  Ibid.,  356.        §  Ibid.,  357.         II  Ibid.,  358. 
1  Our  Liberal  Movement  in  Theology,  68. 


394  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

tration  and  fairness  of  his  judgment."  *  For  four- 
teen years  previous  to  his  death,  in  1884,  he  was  the 
professor  of  New  Testament  criticism  and  interpretation 
in  the  Harvard  Divinity  School.  He  also  rendered  im- 
portant service  as  a  member  of  the  American  committee 
on  the  revision  of  the  New  Testament.  His  essay  on 
The  Authorship  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  was  one  of  the 
ablest  statements  of  the  conservative  view  of  the  origin 
of  that  writing.  The  volume  of  his  Critical  Essays, 
collected  after  his  death,  shows  the  ripe  fruits  of  his 
"punctilious  and  vigilant  scholarship."  He  was  a  zeal- 
ous Unitarian,  and  did  much  to  show  that  the  New 
Testament  is  in  harmony  with  that  faith.  In  1843 
Rev.  Theodore  Parker  published  his  translation  of  De 
Wette's  Introduction  to  the  New  Testament,  with 
learned  notes.  The  extreme  views  of  Baur  and  Zeller 
were  interpreted  by  Rev.  O.  B.  Frothingham  in  his  The 
Cradle  of  the  Christ,  1872. 

Various  attempts  were  also  made  by  those  who  were 
not  professional  scholars  to  bring  the  Bible  into  har- 
mony with  modern  religious  ideas.  One  of  the  most 
notable  of  these  was  that  of  Dr.  Wilham  Henry  Furness, 
pastor  of  the  church  in  Philadelphia  from  1825  to 
1875.  His  Remarks  on  the  Four  Gospels  appeared  in 
1835,  and  was  followed  by  Jesus  and  his  Biographers, 
1838,  Thoughts  on  the  Life  and  Character  of  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  1859,  and  The  Veil  Partly  Lifted  and  Jesus 
Becoming  Visible,  1864,  as  well  as  several  other  works. 
His  attempt  was  to  give  a  rational  interpretation  of  the 
life  of  Jesus  that  should  largely  ehminate  the  miracu^ 

*The  Authorship  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  and  Other  Critical  Essays 
selected  from  the  published  papers  of  Ezra  Abbot,  edited,  with  preface, 
by  Professor  J.  H.  Thayer, 


UNITARIANS   AND   EDUCATION  395 

lous  and  yet  preserve  the  spiritual.  These  works  have 
little  critical  value,  and  yet  they  have  much  of  charm 
and  suggestiveness  as  rehgious  expositions  of  the  Gos- 
pels. Of  somewhat  the  same  nature  was  Dr.  Edmund 
H.  Sears's  The  Fourth  Gospel:  The  Heart  of  Christ, 
1872,  a  work  of  deep  spiritual  insight. 

The  catholic  and  inclusive  spirit  manifested  by  the 

Unitarians  in  their  Biblical  studies  is 

The  Catholic  wDrthy  of  notice,  however,  much  more 

Influence  of  ,  i    r.    •  i         r      i     i       i  • 

Harvard  University.   '^'^'^^^  ^^Y  dennite  results  oi  scholarship 

produced  by  them.  In  the  cultivation 
of  the  broader  academic  fields  which  their  control  of  Har- 
vard University  brought  within  their  reach  this  attitude 
is  especially  conspicuous.  At  no  time  since  it  came  mider 
their  administration  has  it  been  used  for  sectarian  pur- 
poses, to  make  proselytes  or  to  compel  acceptance  of 
their  theology.  During  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  Harvard  was  in  some  degree  distinctly  Uni- 
tarian; but  since  1870  it  has  been  wholly  non-sectarian. 
When  the  Divinity  School  was  organized,  it  was  pro- 
vided in  its  constitution  that  no  denominational  require- 
ments should  be  exacted  of  professors  or  students  ;  yet 
the  school  was  essentially  Unitarian  until  1878.  In 
that  year  the  president,  Charles  W.  Eliot,  asked  of 
Unitarians  the  sum  of  $130,000  as  an  endowment  for 
the  school ;  but  he  insisted  that  it  should  be  henceforth 
wholly  unsectarian,  and  this  demand  was  received  with 
approval  and  enthusiasm  by  Unitarians  themselves. 

In  1879  President  Eliot  said  at  a  meeting  held  in 
the  First  Church  in  Boston  for  the  prurpose  of  appealing 
to  Unitarians  in  behalf  of  the  school:  "The  Harvard 
Divinity  School  is  not  distinctly  Unitarian  either  by  its 
constitution  or  bv  the  intention  of  its  founders.     The 


396  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

doctrines  of  the  unsectarian  sect,  called  in  this  century 
Unitarians,  are  indeed  entitled  to  respectful  considera- 
tion in  the  school  so  long  as  it  exists,  simply  because 
the  school  was  founded,  and  for  two  generations,  at 
least,  has  been  supported,  by  Unitarians.  But  the 
government  of  the  University  cannot  undertake  to  ap- 
point none  but  Unitarian  teachers,  or  to  grant  any  pe- 
culiar favors  to  Unitarian  students.  They  cannot,  be- 
cause the  founders  of  the  school,  themselves  Unitarians, 
imposed  upon  the  University  the  following  fundamental 
rule  for  its  administration :  that  every  encouragement 
shall  be  given  to  the  serious,  impartial,  and  imbiassed 
investigation  of  Christian  truth,  and  that  no  assent 
to  the  peculiarities  of  any  denomination  of  Christians 
shall  be  required  either  of  the  instructors  or  students."  * 
Dr.  Charles  Carroll  Everett,  dean  of  the  school  from 
1878  to  1900,  has  said  that  "in  some  respects  it  differs 
from  every  other  theological  seminary  in  the  country." 
"No  pains  are  taken  to  learn  the  denominational  relar 
tions  of  students  even  when  they  are  apjilicants  for 
aid."  "  No  oversight  is  exercised  over  the  instruction 
of  any  teacher.  No  teacher  is  responsible  for  any  other 
or  to  any  other."  f 

In  1886  compulsory  attendance  upon  prayers  was 
abolished  at  Harvard  University.  Religious  services 
are  regularly  held  every  week-day  morning,  on  Thui-s- 
day  afternoons,  and  on  Sunday  evenings,  being  con- 
ducted by  the  Plummer  professor  of  Christian  morals, 
with  the  co-operation  of  five  other  preachers,  who,  as 
well  as  the  Plummer  professor,  are  selected  irrespective 

*  The  Divinity  School  of  Harvard  University :  Its  History,  Courses 
of  Study,  Aims,  and  Advantages,  published  by  the  University,  9. 

t  The  Divinity  School  as  it  is,  Harvard  Graduates'  Magazine,  June, 
1897. 


UNITARIANS   AND   EDUCATION  397 

of  denominational  affiliations.  In  this  and  other  ways 
the  university  has  made  itself  thoroughly  unsectarian. 
Its  attitude  is  that  of  scientific  investigation,  open- 
muidedness  towards  all  phases  of  truth,  and  freedom  of 
teaching.  Theology  is  thus  placed  on  the  same  basis 
with  other  branches  of  knowledge,  and  religion  is  made 
independent  of  merely  dogmatic  considerations. 

This  undenominational  temper  at  Harvard  University 
has  been  developed  largely  under  Unitarian  auspices. 
Its  presidents  for  nearly  a  century  have  been  Unitarians, 
namely:  John  T.  Kirkland,  1810-28;  Josiah  Quincy, 
1829-45;  Edward  Everett,  1846-49;  Jared  Sparks, 
1849-53 ;  James  Walker,  1853-60  ;  Comehus  C.  Felton, 
1860-G2;  Thomas  HiU,  1862-68;  and  Charles  W. 
Eliot  since  1869.  Kirkland,  Everett,  Sparks,  Walker, 
and  Hill  were  Unitarian  ministers ;  but  under  their 
administration  the  imiversity  was  as  little  sectarian  as 
at  any  other  time. 

When  the  new  era  of  university  growth  began  in 
1865,  with  the  founding  of  Cornell  University,  the  influ- 
ence of  Harvard  was  widely  felt  in  the  development  of 
great  unsectarian  educational  institutions.  Although 
Ezra  Cornell  was  educated  as  a  Friend,  he  was  expelled 
from  that  body,  and  connected  liimself  with  no  other  re- 
ligious sect.  He  was  essentially  a  Unitarian,  often  at- 
tending the  preaching  of  Dr.  Rufus  P.  Stebbins.  The 
university  which  took  his  name  was  inspired  with  the 
Harvard  ideal,  and,  wliile  recognizing  rehgion  as  one  of 
the  great  essential  phases  of  human  thought  and  life, 
gave  and  continues  to  give  equal  opportunity  to  all 
sects. 

Another  instance  of  the  same  spirit  is  Washington 
University,  which  began  under  Unitarian  auspices,  but 


398  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

soon  developed  into  an  entirely  undenominational  insti- 
tution. Members  of  the  Unitarian  church  in  St.  Louis 
secured  a  charter  for  a  seminary,  wliich  in  1853  was  or- 
ganized as  the  Washington  Institute.  In  1857  it  was 
reorganized  as  Washington  University,  and  the  charter 
declared,  "No  instruction,  either  sectarian  in  religion 
or  party  in  politics,  shall  be  allowed  in  any  department 
of  said  university,  and  no  sectarian  or  party  test  shall 
be  allowed  in  the  selection  of  professors,  teachers,  or 
other  officers  of  said  university  or  in  the  admission  of 
scholars  thereof,  or  for  any  purpose  whatever."  Secta- 
rian prejudice,  however,  regarded  the  university  as  es- 
sentially Unitarian ;  and  for  the  first  twenty  years  of  its 
existence  three-foui'ths  of  the  gifts  and  endowments 
came  from  persons  of  that  religious  body. 

Although  Dr.  William  G.  Eliot  knew  nothing  of  the 
original  movement  for  forming  a  semmary  under  liberal 
auspices,  he  gave  the  institution  his  unstinted  support 
and  encouragement.  He  was  the  president  of  the  board 
of  management  from  the  first,  and  in  1871  he  became 
the  chancellor.  At  his  death,  in  1887,  the  university 
included  Smith  Academy,  Mary  Institute,  and  a  manual 
training  school,  these  being  large  preparatory  schools; 
the  college  proper,  school  of  engineering,  Henry  Shaw 
school  of  botany,  St.  Louis  school  of  fine  arts,  law  school, 
medical  school,  and  dental  college.  It  then  had  sixteen 
hundred  students  and  one  hundred  and  sixty  instructors. 
The  endowments  have  since  been  largely  increased,  the 
number  of  students  has  increased  to  two  thousand,  and 
important  new  buildings  have  been  added.  Dr.  Eliot 
gave  the  university  its  direction  and  its  unsectarian 
methods,  and  it  has  attained  its  present  position  be- 
cause of  his  devoted  labors.     The  Iceland  Stanford  Jr. 


UNITARIANS   AND   EDUCATION  399 

University  in  California,  and  Clark  University  in  Massa- 
chusetts, both  founded  by  Unitarians,  further  illustrate 
the  Harvard  spirit  in  education. 

Horace  Mann  was  an  earnest  and  devoted  Unitarian, 
the  intimate  friend  of  Channing  and  Parker, 

The  Work  of  ^^  ^^^^i  of  whom  he  was  largely  indebted 
Horace  Mann.    „,..,,  ,        .  .  . 

for  his  intellectual  and  spiritual  ideals.    He 

was  inspired  by  their  ideas  of  reform  and  progress,  and 
to  their  personal  sympathy  he  owed  much.  It  is  now 
universally  conceded  that  to  him  we  are  indebted  for  the 
diffusion  of  the  common-school  idea  throughout  the 
country,  that  he  developed  and  brought  to  full  expres- 
sion the  conception  of  universal  education.  In  full  sym- 
pathy with  him  in  this  work  were  such  men  as  Dr. 
Channing,  Edward  Everett,  Theodore  Parker,  Josiah 
Quincy,  Samuel  J.  May,  and  the  younger  Robert  Ran- 
toul ;  but  he  made  the  common  school  popular,  and  put 
it  forward  as  a  national  institution.  When  Mann  be- 
came the  secretary  of  the  Massachusetts  Board  of  Edu- 
cation on  its  creation,  in  1837,  the  theory  that  all 
children  should  be  educated  by  the  state,  if  not  other- 
wise provided  for,  was  by  no  means  generally  accepted ; 
nor  was  it  an  accepted  theory  that  such  education 
should  be  strictly  misectarian.*  Mann  fought  the  battle 
for  these  two  ideas,  and  virtually  established  them  for 
the  whole  nation.  On  the  first  board  one-half  the  mem- 
bers were  Unitarians, —  Horace  Mami,  the  younger 
Robert  Rantoul,  Jared  Sparks,  and  Edmund  Dwight. 
Some  of  the  staunchest  and  most  devoted  and  most  lil> 
eral  friends  of  Maim  were  of  other  denominations ;  but 
the  work    for  common  schools  was  thoroughly  in  har- 

*B.  A.  Hinsdale,  Horace  Mann  and  the  Common  School  Revival  in  the 
United  States,  127. 


400  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

mony  with  Unitarian  principles.  Edmund  Dwight  was 
largely  instrumental  in  securing  the  establishment  of  a 
Board  of  Education  in  Massachusetts,  and  he  brought 
about  the  election  of  Horace  Mann  to  fill  the  position  of 
its  secretary.  He  was  a  leading  merchant  in  Boston, 
and  his  house  was  a  centre  for  meetings  and  consulta- 
tions relating  to  educational  interests.  He  contributed 
freely  for  the  purpose  of  enlarging  and  improving  the 
state  system  of  common  schools,  his  donations  amount- 
ing to  not  less  than  |35,000.* 

The  first  person  to  clearly  advocate  the  establishment 
of  schools  for  the  training  of  teachers  was  Rev.  Charles 
Brooks,  minister  of  the  Second  Unitarian  Church  in 
Hingham  from  1821  to  1839,  afterwards  professor  of 
natural  history  in  the  University  of  the  City  of  New 
York,  and  a  reformer  and  author  of  some  reputation  in 
his  day.  In  1834  he  began  to  write  and  lecture  in  be- 
half of  common  schools,  and  esj^ecially  in  the  interest  of 
normal  schools. f  He  spoke  throughout  the  state  in  be- 
half of  training  schools,  with  which  he  had  become  ac- 
quainted in  Prussia ;  he  went  before  the  legislature  on 
this  subject ;  and  he  carried  his  labors  into  other  states.| 

Horace  Mann  took  up  the  idea  of  professional  schools 
for  teachers  and  made  it  effective.  Edmund  Dwight 
gave  ilO,000  to  the  state  for  this  purpose,  and  schools 
were  estabhshed  in  1838.  When  the  first  of  these 
normal  schools  opened  in  Lexington,  July  3,  1839,  its 
principal  was  Rev.  Cyrus  Peirce,  who  had  been  the 
minister  of  the  Unitarian  church  in  North  Reading 
from    1819  to   1829,  and  then   had  been  a  teacher  in 

*  B.  A.  Hinsdale,  Horace  Mann  and  tlie  Common  School  Revival  in  the 
United  States,  148. 

t  Henry  Barnard,  Normal  Schools,  125, 
JB.  A.  Hinsdale,  Horace  Mann,  147. 


UNITARIANS   AND   EDUCATION  401 

North  Andover  and  Nantucket.  "  Had  it  not  been  for 
Cyrus  Peirce,"  wrote  Henry  Barnard,  "  I  consider  the 
cause  of  Normal  Schools  would  have  failed  or  have 
been  postponed  for  an  indefinite  period."  *  Dr.  William 
T.  Harris  has  said  that  "all  Normal  School  work  in 
this  country  follows  substantially  one  tradition,  and 
this  traces  back  to  the  course  laid  down  by  Cyrus 
Peirce,"f  In  the  Lexington  school  Peirce  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Samuel  J.  May,  who  had  been  settled  over 
Unitarian  churches  in  Brooklyn  and  Scituate.J 

The  work  done  by  Horace  Mann  for  education  in- 
cludes his  labors  as  president  of  Antioch  College  from 
1852  to  1859.  He  maintained  that  the  chief  end  of 
education  is  the  development  of  character;  and  he 
sought  to  make  the  college  an  altruistic  community,  in 
which  teachers  and  students  should  labor  together  for 
the  best  good  of  all.  He  put  into  practice  the  non- 
sectarian  principle,  made  the  college  coeducational, 
and  developed  the  spirit  of  individual  freedom  as  one 
of  cardinal  importance  in  education.  "  The  ideas  for 
which  he  stood,"  has  written  one  who  has  carefully 
studied  his  work  in  all  its  phases,  "  spread  abroad  among 
the  people  of  the  Ohio  valley,  and  showed  themselves 
in  various  state  institutions,  normal  schools,  and  high 
schools  that  were  planted  in  the  central  west.  Alto- 
gether, apart  from  Mr.  Mann's  visible  work  in  Antioch 
College  may  be  found  agencies  which  he  set  at  work, 
whose  influence  only  eternity  can  measure.     It  was  a 

*  Quoted  by  J.  P.  Gordy,  Rise  and  Growth  of  the  Normal  School  Idea 
in  the  United  States,  Circular  of  Information  of  the  Bureau  of  Education, 
1891,  49. 

t  Ibid.,  43. 

J  S.  J.  May,  Memoir  of  Cyrus  Peirce,  Barnard's  American  Journal  of 
Education,  December,  1857. 


402  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

great  thing  to  tlie  new  west  that  a  high  standard  of 
scholarship  should  be  placed  before  her  sons  and 
daughters,  and  that  a  few  hundred  of  them  should 
be  sent  out  into  every  corner  of  the  state,  and  ultimately 
to  the  farthest  boundaries  of  the  nation,  with  a  sound 
scholarship  and  a  love  for  truth  there  and  then  wholly 
new.  His  reputation  for  scholarship  and  zeal  gave  his 
opinions  greater  weight  than  those  of  almost  any  other 
man  in  the  country.  As  a  result  the  most  radical 
educational  ideas  were  received  from  him  with  respect ; 
and  he  carried  forward  the  work  of  giving  a  practical 
embodiment  to  co-education,  non-sectarianism,  and  the 
requirements  of  practical  and  efficient  moral  character, 
as  perhaps  no  other  educator  could  have  done.  His 
influence  among  people,  and  the  aspirations  which  he 
kindled  in  thousands  of  minds  by  pubhc  addresses  and 
personal  contact,  did  for  the  people  of  the  Ohio  valley 
a  work,  the  extent  and  value  of  which  can  never  be 
measured."  * 

Horace  Mann  was  largely  influenced  by  Dr.  Chan- 
ning  throughout   his  career  as   an  educa- 

Elizabeth  Pea-  ^^^^^^  reformer,!  as  was  his  wife  and  her 

body  and  the 

Kindergarten,    sister,   Elizabeth  P.  Peabody.     It  was    to 

Channing   that   Miss   Peabody    owed   her 

interest  in   the  work  of   education;  and  his  teachmgs 

brought  her   naturally  into    association    with    Bronsou 

Alcott,  and  made    her   the    leader   in   introducing  the 

kindergarten  into  this  country.     She  was  influenced  by 

*  G.  A.  Hubbell,  Horace  Mann  in  Ohio :  A  Study  of  the  Application 
of  his  Public  School  Ideals  to  College  Administration,  No.  IV.  of  Vol.  VII., 
Columbia  University  Contributions  to  Philosophy,  Psychology,  and  Educa- 
tion, 50. 

t  Mary  Mann,  Life  of  Horace  Maun,  4^1 ;  Henry  Barnard,  Normal 
Schools,  93. 


UNITARIANS   AND   EDUCATION  403 

the  kindergarten  method  at  an  early  date,  and  she  gave 
years  of  devoted  hibor  to  its  extension.  In  connection 
with  her  sister,  Mrs.  Horace  Mann,  she  wi'ote  Culture 
in  Infancy,  1863,  Guide  to  the  Kindergarten,  1877, 
and  Letters  to  Kindergartners,  1886.  As  a  result  of 
her  enthusiastic  efforts,  kindergartens  were  opened  in 
Boston  in  1864 ;  and  it  was  in  1871  that  she  organized 
the  American  Froebel  Union,  which  became  the  kinder- 
garten department  of  the  National  Educational  Asso- 
ciation in  1885.  The  Kindergarten  Messenger  was 
begun  by  her  in  1873,  and  was  continued  under  her 
editorship  until  1877,  when  it  was  merged  in  The  New 
Education. 

jSIiss  Peabody's  Kindergarten  Guide  has  been  de- 
scribed as  one  of  the  most  important  original  contri- 
butions made  to  the  hterature  of  the  subject  in  this 
country.  Her  name  is  most  intimately  associated  with 
the  educational  progress  of  the  country  because  of  her 
enthusiasm  for  the  right  training  of  cliildi-en  and  her 
spiritual  insight  as  a  teacher. 

Much  has  been  done  by  Unitarian  women  to  advance 
the  cause  of  education.    The  conversations 

Work  of  Unita-  ^^  Miirgaret  FuUer,  held  in  Boston  from 
nan  Women  for  ° 

Education.  1839    to    1844,    were    an    important   in- 

fluence in  awakening  women  to  larger 
intellectual  interests ;  and  many  of  those  who  attended 
them  were  afterwards  active  in-promotmg  the  educa- 
tional enterprises  of  the  city.  In  1873  Miss  Abby 
Williams  May,  Mrs.  Ann  Adeline  Badger,  Miss  Lu- 
cretia  Crocker,  and  Miss  Lucia  M.  Peabody  were 
elected  members  of  the  scliool  committee  of  Boston,  but 
did  not  serve,  as  their  right  to  act  in  that  capacity  was 
questioned.      Thereupon    the   legislature    took    action, 


404  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

making  women  eligible  to  the  office.  The  next  year 
Misses  May,  Crocker,  and  Peabody,  with  Mrs.  Kate 
Gannett  Wells,  Mrs.  Mary  Safford  Blake,  and  Miss 
Lucretia  Hale,  were  elected,  and  served.  In  1875 
Misses  Crocker,  Hale,  May,  and  Peabody  were  re- 
elected; and  in  1876  Miss  Crocker  was  elected  one  of 
the  supervisors  of  the  public  schools  of  Boston.  It  is 
significant  that  the  first  women  to  hold  these  positions 
were  Unitarians.  It  is  also  worthy  of  note  that  Miss 
Sarah  Freeman  Clarke,  sister  of  James  Freeman  Clarke, 
was  the  first  landscape  painter  of  her  sex  in  the  coun- 
try; and  that  Mrs.  Cornelia  W.  Walter  was  the  first 
woman  to  edit  a  large  daily  newspaper,  she  having 
become  the  editor  and  manager  of  the  Boston  Trans- 
cript at  an  early  date. 

In  1873  was  organized  by  Miss  Anna  E.  Ticknor, 
daughter  of  Professor  George  Ticknor,  the  historian,  the 
Society  to  encourage  Studies  at  Home.  During  the 
twenty-four  years  of  its  existence  it  conducted  by  cor- 
respondence the  reading  and  studies  of  over  7,000 
women  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  did  an  im- 
portant work  in  enlarging  the  sphere  of  women,  prepar- 
ing them  for  the  work  of  teachers  and  for  social  and 
intellectual  service  in  many  directions.  The  society 
was  discontinued  in  1897,  because,  largely  through  its 
mfluence,  many  other  agencies  had  come  in  to  do  the 
same  work ;  but  the  large  lending  library,  which  had 
been  an  important  feature  of  the  activities  of  the  soci- 
ety, was  continued  under  the  management  of  the  Anna 
Ticknor  Library  Association  until  1902.  The  memorial 
volume,  published  in  1897,  shows  how  important  had 
been  the  work  of  the  Society  to  encourage  Studies  at 
Home,  and  how  many  women,  who  were  otherwise  de- 


UNITARIANS    AND   EDUCATION  405 

prived  of  intellectual  opportunities,  were  encouraged, 
helped,  and  inspired  by  it.  It  was  said  of  Miss  Tick- 
nor,  by  Samuel  Eliot,  the  president  of  the  society 
throughout  the  whole  period  of  its  existence :  "  While 
appreciative  of  the  restrictions  whicli  she  wished  to  re- 
move, she  was  desirous  to  gratify,  if  possible,  the  aspi- 
rations of  the  large  number  of  women  throughout  the 
country  who  would  fain  obtain  an  education,  and  who 
had  little,  if  any,  hope  of  obtaining  it.  She  was  very 
highly  educated  herself,  and  thought  more  and  more  of 
her  responsibility  to  share  her  advantages  with  others 
not  possessing  them.  In  addition  to  these  moral  and 
intellectual  qualifications,  she  possessed  an  executive 
ability  brought  into  constant  prommence  by  her  work 
as  secretary  of  the  society.  She  was  a  teacher,  an  in- 
spirer,  a  comforter,  and,  in  the  best  sense,  a  friend  of 
many  and  many  a  lonely  and  baffled  life."  * 

The  service  of  Mrs.  Mary  Hemenway  to  education 
also  deserves  recognition.  Possessed  of  large  wealth, 
she  devoted  it  to  advancing  important  educational  and 
intellectual  interests.  She  established  the  Normal  School 
t)f  Swedish  Gynuiastics  in  Boston,  and  provided  for  its 
maintenance  until  it  was  adopted  by  the  city  as  a  part 
of  its  educational  system.  With  her  financial  support 
the  Hemenway  South-western  Archaeological  Expedi- 
tion was  carried  on  by  Frank  H.  Gushing  and  J.  W. 
Fewkes.  It  was  largely  because  of  her  efforts  that  the 
Montana  Industrial  School  was  established,  and  main- 
tained for  about  ten  years.  Her  chief  work,  however, 
was  in  the  promotion  of  the  study  of  American  history 
on  the  j^art  of  young  persons.  When  the  Old  South 
Meeting-house  was  threatened  with  destruction,  she  con- 

*  Memorial  Volume,  2. 


406  UNITAEIANISM    IN    A:MERICA 

tributed  1100,000  towards  its  preservation  ;  and  by  her 
energy  and  perseverance  it  was  devoted  to  the  interests 
of  historical  study.  The  Old  South  Lectures  for  Young 
People  were  organized  in  1883,  soon  after  was  begun 
the  publication  of  the  Old  South  Leaflets,  a  series  of 
historical  prizes  was  provided  for,  the  Old  South  His- 
torical Society  was  organized,  and  historical  pilgrimages 
were  estabhshed.  All  this  work  was  placed  in  charge 
of  Mr.  Edwin  D.  Mead ;  and  the  New  England  Maga- 
zine, of  which  he  was  the  editor,  gave  interpretation  to 
these  various  educational  efforts. 

Mrs.  Hemenway  devoted  her  life  to  such  works  as 
these.  It  is  impossible  to  enumerate  here  all  her  noble 
undertakings ;  but  they  were  many.  "  Mrs.  Hemen- 
way was  a  woman  whose  interests  and  sympathies  were 
as  broad  as  the  world,"  says  Edwin  D.  Mead,  "  but  she 
was  a  great  patriot ;  and  she  was  pre-eminently  that. 
She  had  a  reverent  pride  in  our  position  of  leadership 
in  the  history  and  movement  of  modern  democracy  ;  and 
she  had  a  consuming  zeal  to  keep  the  nation  strong  and 
worthy  of  its  best  traditions,  and  to  kindle  this  zeal  among 
the  young  people  of  the  nation.  With  all  her  great  en- 
thusiasms, she  was  an  amazingly  practical  and  definite 
woman.  She  wasted  no  time  nor  strength  in  vague 
generahties,  either  of  speech  or  action.  Others  might 
long  for  the  time  when  the  kingdom  of  God  should 
cover  the  earth  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea,  and  she 
longed  for  it;  but,  while  others  longed,  she  devoted 
herself  to  doing  what  she  could  to  bring  that  corner  of 
God's  world  in  winch  she  was  set  into  conformity  with 
the  laws  of  God, —  and  this  by  every  means  in  her 
power,  by  teaching  poor  girls  how  to  make  better  clothes 
and  cook  better  dinners    and    make    better  homes,  by 


UNITARIANS   AND   EDUCATION  407 

teaching  people  to  value  health  and  respect  and  train 
their  bodies  and  love  better  music  and  better  pictures 
and  be  interested  in  more  important  things.  Others 
might  long  for  the  parliament  of  man  and  the  federa- 
tion of  the  world,  and  so  did  she;  but  wliile  others 
longed,  she  devoted  herself  to  doing  what  she  could  to 
make  this  nation,  for  which  she  was  particularly  re- 
sponsible, fitter  for  the  federation  when  it  comes.  The 
good  state  for  which  she  worked  was  a  good  Massa- 
chusetts; and  her  chief  interest,  while  others  talked 
municipal  reform,  was  to  make  a  better  Boston."  * 
The  interest  of  Unitarians  in  popular  education  and 
the  general  diffusion  of  knowledge  may 
Popular  Educa-  ^^  ^^^^^^^  incUcated  by  a  few  illustra- 
tion and  Public     .  r^  p     •, 

Libraries.  tions.     One  of  these  is  the  Lowell  Insti- 

tute in  Boston,  founded  by  John  Lowell, 
son  of  Francis  Cabot  Lowell,  and  cousin  of  James 
Russell  Lowell.  He  was  a  Boston  merchant,  became  an 
extensive  traveller,  and  died  in  Bombay,  in  1836,  at  the 
age  of  thirty-four.  In  his  will  he  left  one-half  his  fort- 
une for  the  promotion  of  popular  education  through 
lectures,  and  in  other  ways.  John  Amory  Lowell  be- 
came the  trustee  of  this  fund,  nearly  $250,000 ;  and  in 
December,  1839,  the  Lowell  Institute  began  its  work 
with  a  lecture  by  Edward  Everett,  which  gave  a  bio- 
graphical account  of  John  LoweU,  and  a  statement  of 
the  purposes  of  the  Institute.  Smce  that  time  the 
Lowell  Institute  has  given  to  the  people  of  Boston,  free 
of  charge,  from  fifty  to  one  himdred  lectures  each  win- 
ter. The  topics  treated  have  taken  a  wide  range,  and 
the  lecturers  have  included  many  of  the  ablest  men  in 

*  Edwin  D.  Mead,  The  Old  South  Work,  1900 ;  also  Memorial  Sei- 
mon,  by  Charles  G.  Ames,  17. 


408  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

this  and  other  countries.  The  work  of  the  Lowell  In- 
stitute has  also  included  free  lectures  for  advanced  stu- 
dents given  in  connection  with  the  Massachusetts  Insti- 
tute of  Technology,  science  lectures  to  the  teachers  of 
Boston,  and  a  free  drawing  school. 

In  1846  Louis  Agassiz  came  to  this  country  to  lecture 
before  the  Lowell  Institute.  The  result  was  that  he  be- 
came permanently  connected  with  Harvard  University, 
and  transferred  his  scientific  work  to  this  country.  This 
was  accomplished  by  means  of  the  gift  of  Abbott  Law- 
rence, who  founded  the  Lawrence  Scientific  Scliool  in 
1847.  Although  the  Lowell  Institute  was  founded  by  a 
Unitarian,  and  although  it  has  always  been  largely  man- 
aged by  Unitarians,  it  has  been  wholly  unsectarian  in 
its  work.  Many  of  its  lecturers  have  been  of  that  body, 
but  only  because  they  were  men  of  science  or  of  literary 
attainments. 

In  1854  Peter  Cooper  founded  the  Cooper  Union  in 
New  York  for  the  Advancement  of  Science  and  Art,  to 
promote  "instruction  in  branches  of  knowledge  by 
which  men  and  women  earn  their  daily  bread ;  in  laws 
of  health  and  improvement  of  the  sanitary  conditions  of 
families  as  well  as  individuals ;  in  social  and  political 
science,  whereby  communities  and  nations  advance  in 
virtue,  wealth,  and  power ;  and  finally  in  matters  whicli 
affect  the  eye,  the  ear,  and  the  imagination,  and  furnish 
a  basis  for  recreation  to  the  working  classes."  He 
erected  a  large  building,  and  established  therein  the 
Cooper  Institute,  with  its  reading-room,  library,  lectures, 
schools,  and  other  facilities  for  bringmg  the  means  of 
education  within  reach  of  those  who  could  not  other- 
wise obtain  them. 

Peter  Cooper  was  an  earnest  Unitarian  in  his  opin- 


UNITARIANS    AND    EDUCATION  409 

ions,  attending  the  church  of  Dr.  Bellows ;  but  he  was 
wholly  without  sectarian  bias.  In  a  letter  addressed  to 
the  delegates  to  the  Evangelical  Alliance,  at  its  session 
held  in  New  York  in  1873,  he  expressed  the  catholicity 
and  the  humanitarian  spirit  of  his  religion.  "  I  look  to 
see  the  day,"  he  wrote,  "when  the  teachers  of  Chris- 
tianity will  rise  above  all  the  cramping  power  and  influ- 
ence of  conflicting  creeds  and  systems  of  human  device, 
when  they  will  beseech  mankind  by  all  the  mercies  of 
God  to  be  reconciled  to  the  government  of  love,  the 
only  government  that  can  ever  bring  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  into  the  hearts  of  mankind  either  here  or  here- 
after." 

About  1825  there  was  opened  in  Dublin,  N.H., 
under  the  auspices  of  Rev.  Levi  W.  Leonard,  minister 
of  the  Unitarian  church  in  that  village,  the  first  Hbrary 
in  the  country  that  was  free  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  a 
town  or  city.  In  the  adjoining  town  of  Peterboro,  in 
1833,  under  the  leadership  of  Rev.  Abiel  Abbot,  also 
the  Unitarian  minister,  a  library  was  established  by  vote 
of  the  town.  This  library  was  maintained  by  the  to^vn 
itself,  being  the  first  in  the  country  supported  from  the 
tax  rates  of  a  municipality.  In  the  work  of  these 
Unitarian  ministers  may  be  found  the  beginnings  of  the 
present  interest  in  the  establishment  and  growth  of 
free  public  libraries. 

In  the  founding  and  endowment  of  libraries.  Unitari- 
ans have  taken  an  active  part.  What  they  have  done 
in  this  direction  may  be  illustrated  by  the  gift  of  Enoch 
Pratt  of  one  and  a  quarter  million  dollars  to  the  public 
library  in  Baltimore.  Concerning  the  time  when  Jared 
Sparks  was  the  minister  of  the  Unitarian  church  in 
Baltimore,  Professor  Herbert  B.  Adams  has  said :  "  Some 


410  UNITAIIIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

of  the  most  generous  and  public-spirited  people  of  Balti- 
more were  connected  with  the  first  independent  church. 
Afterwards,  men  who  were  to  be  most  helpful  in  the 
upbuilding  of  Baltimore's  greatest  institutions  —  the 
Peabody  Institute,  the  Pratt  Library,  and  the  Johns 
Hopkins  University  —  were  associated  with  the  Unita- 
rian society."  * 

Professor  Barrett  Wendell  speaks  of  George  Ticknor 
as  "  the  chief  founder  of  the  cldef  public  library  in  the 
United  States."  f  Ticknor  undoubtedly  did  more  than 
anybody  else  to  make  the  Boston  Public  Library  the 
great  institution  it  has  become,  not  only  in  giving  it  his 
own  collection  of  books,  but  also  in  its  inception  and 
in  its  organization.  The  best  working  library  in  the 
country,  that  of  the  Boston  Athenaeum,  also  owes  a 
very  large  debt  to  the  early  Unitarians,  with  whom  it 
origiaated,  and  by  whom  it  was  largely  maintained  in 
its  early  days. 

One  of  the  most  important  contributions  to  the  work 
of  education  has  been  that  of  Rev. 
Mayo's  Southern  Amory  D.  Mayo,  known  as  the  « Min- 
f^llQ^  istry  of  Education  in  the  South."    After 

settlements  over  churches  in  Gloucester, 
Cleveland,  Albany,  Cincinnati,  and  Spriagfield,  Mr. 
Mayo  began  his  southern  work  in  1880.  He  had  an 
extensive  preparation  for  his  southern  labors,  having 
served  on  the  school  boards  of  Cincinnati  and  Spring- 
field for  fifteen  years,  lectured  extensively  on  educa- 
tional subjects,  and  been  a  frequent  contributor  to 
educational  periodicals.  He  has  wi'itten  a  History  of 
Common  Schools,  which  is  published  by  the  national 

*  Life  and  Writings  of  Jared  Sparks,  I.  141. 
t  A  Literary  History  of  America,  266. 


UNITARIANS   AND   EDUCATION  411 

Bureau  of  Education,  prepared  several  of  the  Circulars 
of  Information  of  that  bureau,  and  printed  a  great  num- 
ber of  educational  pamphlets  and  addresses. 

"  One  of  tlie  most  helpful  agencies  in  the  work  of 
free  and  universal  education  in  the  South,  for  the  last 
twenty  years,"  says  Dr.  J.  L.  M.  Curry  in  a  personal 
letter,  "  has  been  the  ministry  of  A.  D.  IMayo.  His  intel- 
ligent zeal,  his  instructive  addresses,  his  tireless  energy, 
have  made  him  a  potent  factor  in  this  great  work ;  and 
any  histoiy  of  what  the  Unitarian  denomination  has 
done  would  be  very  imperfect  which  did  not  make 
proper  and  grateful  recognition  of  his  valuable  ser- 
vices." 


XIX. 

UNITARIANISM   AND    LITERATUEE. 

The  history  of  American  literature  is  intimately 
connected  with  the  history  of  Unitarianism  in  this 
country.  The  influences  that  caused  the  growth  of 
Unitarianism  were  those,  to  a  large  extent,  that  pro- 
duced American  literature.  It  was  not  merely  Harvard 
College  that  had  this  effect,  as  has  been  often  asserted ; 
for  the  other  colleges  did  not  become  the  centres  of 
literary  activity.  It  was  more  distinctly  the  freedom, 
the  breadth  of  intellectual  interest,  and  the  sympathy 
with  what  was  human  and  natural  developed  by  the 
Unitarian  movement  that  were  favorable  to  the  growth 
of  Hterature.  Yet  from  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth 
century  Harvard  fostered  the  spirit  of  inquiry,  and 
helped  to  set  the  mind  free  from  the  theological  and 
classical  predispositions  that  had  checked  its  natural 
growth.  A  taste  for  literature  was  encouraged,  theol- 
ogy took  on  a  broad  and  humanitarian  character,  and 
there  was  a  growing  appreciation  of  art  and  poetry. 
Harvard  College  helped  to  bring  men  into  contact  with 
European  thought,  and  thus  opened  to  them  fresh  and 
stimulating  sources  of  intellectual  interest. 

During  the  last  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century 
and  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  New  England  was 
largely  devoted  to  commercial  enterprises.  Every 
coast  town  of  any  size  from  Newport  to  Belfast  was 
concerned  with  ship-building  and  with  trade  to  foreign 


UNITAKIANISM    AND    LITERATURE  413 

ports.  Such  towns  as  Boston  and  Salem  traded  with 
China,  India,  and  many  other  parts  of  the  world. 
Not  only  was  wealth  largely  increased  by  tliis  com- 
mercial activity,  but  the  influence  upon  life  and  thought 
was  very  great.  The  mind  was  emancipated,  and 
religion  grew  more  liberal  and  humane,  as  the  result  of 
this  contact  with  foreign  lands.  Along  the  whole 
coast,  within  the  limits  named,  there  was  an  abandon- 
ment of  Puritanism  and  a  growth  into  a  genial  and 
humanitarian  interpretation  of  Christianity.  In  New 
York  City  somewhat  the  same  results  were  produced,  at 
least  on  social  and  intellectual  life,  though  with  less 
immediate  effect  upon  religion.  It  was  in  these  regions, 
in  which  commercial  contact  with  the  great  outside 
world  set  the  mind  free  and  awakened  the  imagination, 
that  American  literature  was  born. 

The  influence  of  Unitarian  culture  and  literary  tastes 
is   shown   by  the    considerable  number  of 

Influence  of  literary  men  who  were  the  sons  of  Unitarian 
Unitarian  .    .  -r.   i    i    ttt  i  i     -n  i 

Environment    ™"iisters.     Kalph  Waido  Jl,merson  was  the 

son  of  William  Emerson,  the  minister  of  the 
First  Church  in  Boston  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  George  Bancroft  was  the  son  of  Aaron  Ban- 
croft, the  first  Unitarian  minister  in  Worcester,  and  the 
first  president  of  the  American  Unitarian  Association. 
To  Charles  Lowell,  of  the  West  Church  in  Boston,  were 
bom  James  Russell  Lowell  and  Robert  T.  S.  Lowell. 
The  father  of  Francis  Parkman  was  of  the  same  name, 
and  was  for  many  years  the  minister  of  the  New  North 
Church  in  Boston.  Richard  Hildreth  was  the  son  of 
Hosea  Hildreth,  Unitarian  minister  in  Gloucester. 
Octavius  Brooks  Frothingham  was  the  son  of  Nathaniel 
L.  Frothingham,  minister  of  tlio  First  Church  in  Boston. 


414  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

Joseph  Allen,  father  of  Joseph  Henry  Allen  and 
William  Francis  Allen,  was  the  minister  in  Northboro 
for  many  years.  Of  literaiy  workers  now  living  William 
Everett  is  the  son  of  Edward  Everett,  Charles  Eliot 
Norton  of  Andrews  Norton,  and  William  Wells  Newell 
of  William  Newell,  minister  of  the  First  Church  in 
Cambridge  for  many  years. 

This  influence  is  shown  in  the  large  number  of  lit- 
erary men  who  studied  at  the  Harvard  Divinity  School 
and  began  their  career  as  Unitarian  ministers.  It  may 
be  partly  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  at  the  beginning 
of  the  nineteenth  century  literature  offered  but  a  precari- 
ous opportunity  to  men  of  talent  and  genius.  The 
respect  then  accorded  to  ministers,  the  wide  influence 
they  were  able  to  exert,  and  the  many  intellectual 
opportmiities  offered  by  the  profession,  naturally  at- 
tracted many  young  men.  During  the  first  part  of  the 
nineteenth  century  no  other  profession  was  so  attrac- 
tive, and  enthusiasm  for  it  was  large  amongst  the  stu- 
dents of  Harvard  College.  As  literary  openings  began 
to  present  themselves,  many  of  these  men  found  other 
occupations,  partly  because  their  tastes  were  intellect- 
ual rather  than  theological,  and  partly  because  the  radi- 
cal ferment  made  the  pulpit  no  longer  acceptable.  Such 
a  man  as  Edward  Everett  would  never  have  entered 
the  pulpit,  had  it  not  been  socially  and  intellectually 
most  attractive  at  the  time  when  he  began  his  career. 
In  the  instance  of  Samuel  A.  Ehot,  who  took  the  full 
course  in  the  Divinity  School,  but  did  not  preach,  being 
afterward  mayor  of  Boston  and  member  of  Congress, 
the  influences  at  work  were  probably  much  the  same. 

George  Bancroft  is  another  instance  of  a  graduate  of 
the  Divinity  School  who  did  not  enter  the  pulpit,  but, 


UNITARIANISM   AND   LITERATURE  415 

beginning  his  career  as  a  teacher,  devoted  his  life  to 
literature  and  diplomacy.  With  such  men  as  Christo- 
pher P.  Cranch,  artist  and  poet;  George  P.  Bradford, 
teacher,  thinker,  and  friend  of  literary  men ;  H.  G.  O. 
Blake,  editor  of  Thoreau's  Journals ;  J.  L.  Sibley,  hbra- 
rian ;  John  Albee,  poet  and  essayist ;  and  William  Gush- 
ing, bibUographer,  the  cause  operating  was  probably  the 
same, —  the  discovery  that  the  chosen  profession  was 
not  acceptable  or  that  some  other  was  preferable.  An- 
other gi'oup  of  men,  including  John  G.  Palfrey,  Jared 
Sparks,  William  Ware,  Horatio  Alger,  James  K.  Hos- 
mer,  Edward  Rowland  Sill,  and  William  Wells  Newell, 
who  occupied  Unitarian  pulpits  for  brief  periods,  were 
drawn  into  hterary  occupations  as  more  congenial  to 
their  tastes.  The  same  influence  doubtless  served  to 
withdraw  Emerson,  George  Ripley,  John  S.  Dwight, 
Thomas  W.  Higginson,  Moncure  D.  Conway,  and 
Francis  E.  Abbot,  from  the  pulpit ;  but  with  these  men 
there  was  also  a  break  with  traditional  Christianity. 

The  early  Unitarian  movement  in  New  England  was 
Hterary  and  rehgious  rather  than  theological. 
Tende^ies  '^^^  ^^^  ^^°  have  been  most  influential  in 
determining  the  course  of  Unitarian  develop- 
ment, such  as  Charming,  Dewey,  Parker,  and  Hedge, 
not  to  include  Emerson,  who  has  been  a  greater  affirma- 
tive leader  than  either  of  the  others,  were  first  of  all 
preachers,  and  their  published  works  were  originally 
given  to  the  world  from  the  pulpit.  They  made  no 
effort  to  produce  a  Unitarian  system  of  theology ;  and  it 
would  have  been  quite  in  opposition  to  the  genius  of  the 
movement,  had  they  entered  upon  such  a  task. 

With  the  advent  of  the  Unitarian  movement,  for  the 
first  time  in  the  history  of  the  American  pulpit  did  the 


416  UNITARIANISM   IN    AIMERICA 

sermon  become  a  literary  product.  Channing  and  his 
coworkers,  especially  Buckminster  and  Everett,  de- 
parted widely  from  the  pulpit  traditions  of  New  Eng- 
land, ceased  to  quote  texts,  abandoned  theological 
exposition,  refrained  from  the  exhortatory  method,  and 
addressed  men  and  women  in  literary  language  about 
the  actual  interests  of  daily  life.  Their  preaching  was 
not  metaphysical,  and  it  was  not  declamatory.  The 
illustrations  used  were  human  rather  than  Biblical,  a 
preference  was  given  to  what  was  intellectual  rather 
than  to  what  was  emotional,  and  the  effect  was  instruc- 
tion rather  than  conversion.  It  resulted  in  faithful  liv- 
ing, good  citizenship,  fidelity  to  duty,  love  of  the  neigh- 
bor, and  an  earnest  helpfulness  toward  the  poor  and 
unfortunate. 

In  studying  any  considerable  list  of  Unitarian  minis- 
ters,  and  taking   note   of   their  personal 

Literary  Tastes  Pastes  and  their  avocations,  it  will  be  seen 
of  Unitarian  ,  .  i         r    i  i  r 

Ministers.  *^^*  ^  large  number  of  them  were  lovers  of 

literature,  and  ardently  devoted  much  of 
their  time  to  literary  pursuits.  Not  only  was  there  a 
decidedly  literary  flavor  about  their  preaching,  but  they 
were  frequent  contributors  to  The  Christian  Examiner 
and  The  North  American  Review ;  and  they  wrote  poems, 
novels,  books  of  travel,  essays,  and  histories.  They  were 
conspicuous  in  historical  and  scientific  societies,  in  promot- 
ing scientific  investigations,  in  advancing  archteological 
researches,  in  every  kind  of  learned  inquiry.  Their  intel- 
lectual interests  were  so  catholic  and  so  vigorous  that 
they  were  not  contented  with  parish  and  pulpit,  and  in 
some  cases  it  would  seem  that  the  avocation  was  as  im- 
portant as  the  vocation  itself. 

Dr.  ChanninCT  would  be  named  as  the  man  who  has 


UNITAKIANISM    AISD    LITERATURE  417 

done  most  to  give  direction  to  tlie  currents  of  Unitarian 
thought  on  theological  problems,  but  he  was  also  con- 
spicuously a  philanthropist  and  reformer.  He  was  less 
a  theologian,  in  the  technical  sense,  than  one  who 
taught  men  to  live  in  the  spirit.  His  spiritual  insight, 
humanitarian  sympathies,  and  imaginative  fellowship 
with  all  forms  of  human  experience  gave  his  writings  a 
Uterary  charm  and  power  of  a  high  order.  He  was  a 
great  religious  teacher  and  inspirer,  a  preacher  of  unsur- 
passed gifts  of  spiritual  interpretation,  and  a  prophet  of 
the  truer  rehgious  hfe. 

The  Unitarian  leaders  who  were  influenced  by  the 
transcendental  movement,  of  which  the  most  prominent 
were  Parker,  Hedge,  Clarke,  and  C.  C.  Everett,  inter- 
preted theology  in  the  broadest  spirit.  Parker  was  es- 
sentially a  preacher  and  reformer.  It  was  the  one 
conspicuous  aim  of  his  life  to  Hberate  religion  from  the 
intellectual  thraldom  of  the  past,  and  to  brmg  it  into 
the  open  air  of  the  world,  where  it  might  be  informed 
of  daily  experience  and  gain  for  itself  a  rightful  oppor- 
tunity. He  was  therefore  literary,  imaginative,  ethical, 
practical.  He  wrote  for  The  Dial,  and  established  The 
Massachusetts  Review,  he  was  one  of  the  most  widely 
heard  of  popular  lecturers,  and  he  was  a  leader  in  the 
most  radical  of  the  reforms  prominent  in  liis  day.  Par- 
ker made  all  wisdom  subservient  to  his  religion,  treated 
a  wide  range  of  subjects  in  his  pulpit,  and  brought 
religion  into  immediate  contact  with  human  life. 

Frederic  H.  Hedge  did  more  than  any  other  man  to 
give  Unitarianism  a  consistent  philosophy  and  theology. 
His  Reason  in  Religion  and  Ways  of  the  Spirit  have 
had  a  profound  influence  in  shaping  the  thought  of 
the  denomination,   and   have  led  all  American  Unita- 


418  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMEEICA 

rians  to  accept  his  view  of  the  universahty  of  incarna- 
tion and  the  cousubstantiality  of  man  and  God.  He 
was  wise  as  an  interpreter,  and  by  no  means  wanting  in 
originality,  a  brilliant  essayist,  a  philosophical  historian, 
and  a  student  of  high  themes.  His  Prose  Writers  of 
Germany,  Hours  with  the  German  Classics,  Primeval 
World  of  Hebrew  Tradition,  and  Atheism  in  Philosophy 
show  the  range  of  his  interests  and  his  abihty  as  a 
thinker. 

James  Freeman  Clarke  may  be  selected  as  a  typical 
Unitarian  minister,  who  wrote  poetry,  was  more  than 
once  an  editor,  often  appeared  on  the  lecture  platform, 
was  a  frequent  contributor  to  the  leading  periodicals, 
wrote  several  works  of  biography  and  history,  gave  him- 
self zealously  to  the  advocacy  of  the  noblest  reforms, 
and  produced  many  volumes  of  sermons  that  have  in 
an  unusual  degree  the  merit  of  directness,  literary 
grace,  suggestiveness,  and  spiritual  warmth  and  insight. 
His  theological  writings  have  been  widely  read  by  Uni- 
tarians and  those  not  of  that  fellowsliip.  His  Self- 
culture  has  been  largely  circulated  as  a  manual  of  prac- 
tical ethics.  His  Ten  Great  Religions  and  its  companion 
volume  opened  the  way  in  this  country  for  the  recogni- 
tion of  the  comparative  study  of  rehgious  developments. 
Not  content  with  so  wide  a  range  of  studies,  he  wrote 
Thomas  Didymus,  an  liistorical  romance  concerned  with 
New  Testament  characters.  How  to  iind  the  Stars,  and 
Exotics,  a  volume  of  poetical  translation.  He  was  a 
maker  of  many  books,  and  all  of  them  were  well  made. 
His  theology  was  all  the  more  humane,  and  liis  preach- 
ing was  all  the  more  effective,  because  he  was  interested 
in  many  subjects  and  had  a  real  mastery  of  them. 

Charles  Carroll  Everett  was  a  philosophical  thinker 


UNITARIANISM   AND   LITERATURE  419 

and  theologian,  and  the  younger  generation  of  Unitarian 
muiisters  has  been  largely  influenced  by  him.  His  theo- 
logical work  was  done  in  the  lecture-room,  but  it  was 
of  first-rate  importance.  He  was  a  profound  thinker,  a 
vigorous  writer,  and  an  mspiring  teacher.  He  was  an 
able  theologian,  philosophical  in  thought,  but  deeply 
spiritual  in  insight.  His  work  on  The  Science  of 
Thought  shows  the  depth  and  vigor  of  his  thinking ; 
but  his  volumes  on  The  Gospel  of  Paul,  Religions  be- 
fore Christianity,  Poetry,  Comedy,  and  Dut}'-,  suggest 
the  breadth  of  his  inquiries  and  the  richness  of  his 
pliilosophical  investigations.  In  his  position  as  the 
dean  of  the  Harvard  Divinity  School  he  accomplished 
his  best  work,  and  there  his  great  ability  as  theologian 
and  philosophical  tliinker  made  itself  amply  manifest. 

Another  group  of  men  largely  influenced  by  the  tran- 
scendental movement  included  David  A.  Wasson,  John 
Weiss,  Samuel  Johnson,  Samuel  Longfellow,  Cyrus  A. 
Bartol,  Octavius  B.  Frotliingham,  and  William  J. 
Potter.  Here  we  see  the  literary  tendency  showing  it- 
self distinctly  and  to  much  advantage.  The  first  four 
of  these  men  -wrote  exquisite  hymns  and  spiritual 
lyrics,  and  all  of  them  were  contributors  to  periodical 
literature  or  writers  of  books.  Weiss  was  a  literary 
critic  of  no  mean  merit  in  his  lectures  on  Greek  and 
Shakespearean  subjects ;  and  his  volumes  on  American 
Religion  and  Immortal  Life  were  purely  literary  in  their 
method.  However  deficient  were  Johnson's  books  on 
the  rehgions  of  India,  China,  and  Persia,  from  the  pomt 
of  view  of  the  science  of  religion,  they  have  not  yet 
been  surpassed  as  interpretations  of  the  inner  spirit  of 
Oriental  religions.  Bartol  was  a  master  of  an  incisive 
literary  method  in  the  pulpit,  that  gives  to  his  Radical 


420  UNITAKIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

Problems,  The  Rising  Faith,  and  Principles  and  Por- 
traits a  scintillating  power  all  their  own,  with  epigram 
and  flash  of  wit  on  every  page.  Frothingham  published 
many  a  volume  of  sermons;  but  his  biographies  of 
Parker,  Gerrit  Smith,  Wasson,  Johnson,  Ripley,  Chan- 
ning,  and  his  volume  on  the  History  of  Transcendental- 
ism in  New  England,  as  well  as  his  Boston  Unitarian- 
ism,  and  Recollections  and  Impressions,  indicate  that  his 
literary  interests  were  quite  as  active  as  his  theological. 

The  literary  tastes  of  Unitarian  ministers  are  indi- 
cated by  the  large  number  of  them  who  have  written 
poetry  that  passes  beyond  the  limits  of  mediocrity.  The 
names  of  John  Pierpont,  Andrews  Norton,  Samuel 
Oilman,  Nathaniel  L.  Frothingham,  the  younger  Henry 
Ware,  W.  B.  O.  Peabody,  William  Heiu-y  Furness, 
William  Newell,  William  Parsons  Lunt,  Frederic  H. 
Hedge,  James  F.  Clarke,  Theodore  Parker,  Chandler 
Robbins,  Edmund  H.  Sears,  Charles  T.  Brooks,  Robert 
C.  Waterston,  Thomas  Hill,  and  others,  have  been  lov- 
ingly commemorated  in  AKred  P.  Putnam's  Singers  and 
Songs  of  the  Liberal  Faith.  Hymns  of  nearly  all  these 
men  are  in  common  use  in  many  congregations,  and 
some  of  their  work  has  found  a  place  in  every  hymnal. 

No  one  can  read  the  sermons  of  Thomas  Starr  King 
without  feeling  their  literary  grace  and  finish  of  style,  as 
well  as  their  intellectual  vigor.  His  lectures  marked 
his  literary  interest,  which  shows  itself  in  his  Christian- 
ity and  Humanity  and  his  Substance  and  Show.  Espe- 
cially does  it  appear  in  his  delightful  book  on  The 
White  Hills,  their  Legends,  Landscape,  and  Poetry.  In 
his  day,  Hemy  Giles  was  widely  known  as  a  lecturer ; 
and  his  numerous  volumes  of  literary  interpretation  and 
criticism,  especially  his  Human  Life  in  Shakespeare,  were 


UNITARIANISM    AND    LITERATURE  421 

read  with  appreciation.  In  his  District  School  as  it 
was,  and  My  Religious  Experience  at  my  Native  Home, 
Warren  Burton  described  in  simple  but  effective  prose 
a  kind  of  life  that  has  long  since  passed  away.  His 
educational  lectures  and  books  helped  on  the  cause  of 
pubUc  school  education,  a  subject  in  which  he  was 
greatly  interested. 

Unitarian  ministers  have  also  made  many  contribu- 
tions to  local  and  general  history.  The  history  of 
King's  Chapel  by  Francis  W.  P.  Greenwood  may  be 
mentioned  as  a  specimen  of  the  former  kind  of  work ; 
but  Greenwood  also  published  several  volumes  of  ser- 
mons, as  well  as  biographical  and  literary  volumes.  A 
History  of  the  Second  Church  in  Boston,  with  Lives  of 
Increase  and  Cotton  Mather,  was  published  by  Chandler 
Robbins.  The  theological  history  of  Unitarianism  was 
ably  discussed  by  George  E.  Ellis  in  A  Half-century  of 
the  Unitarian  Controversy.  He  devoted  much  attention 
to  the  history  of  New  England,  gave  many  lectures  and 
addresses  on  subjects  connected  therewith,  published 
biographies  of  Anne  Hutchinson,  WiUiam  Penn,  Count 
Rumford,  Jared  Sparks,  and  Charles  W.  Upham.  His 
volumes  on  The  Red  Man  and  the  White  Man  in  North 
America,  The  Puritan  Theocracy,  and  others,  show  his 
liistorical  abihty  and  his  large  grasp  of  his  subjects. 
Joseph  Henry  Allen  published  an  Historical  Sketch 
of  the  Unitarian  Movement  suice  the  Reformation,  in 
the  American  Church  History  series.  In  Our  Liberal 
Movement  in  Theology,  and  its  Sequel,  he  critically 
and  appreciatively  treated  of  the  liistory  of  Unitarianism 
in  New  England,  and  of  the  men  who  were  most  impor- 
tant in  its  development.  His  taste  for  historical  studies 
appeared  in  his  Christian  History  in  its  Three  Great  Pe- 


422  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

riods,  a  work  of  admirable  critical  judgment,  sobriety  of 
statement,  and  concise  presentation  of  the  essential  facts. 

Alvan  Lamson  produced  a  book  of  critical  value  in 
The  Church  of  the  First  Three  Centuries,  which 
treats  of  the  origin  of  the  Trinitarian  beliefs  during 
that  period.  A  work  of  a  similar  character  was  done 
by  Frederic  Huidekoper,  in  whose  books  were  included 
the  results  of  many  years  of  minute  research,  and  of 
critical  investigation  into  the  origins  of  Christianity. 

Books  of  a  widely  different  nature  were  written  by 
Artemas  B.  Muzzey  in  his  Personal  Recollection  of 
the  Men  in  the  Battle  of  Lexington,  and  Reminis- 
cences of  Men  of  the  Revolution  and  their  Families. 
He  published  several  volumes  of  sermons,  as  well  as  a 
number  of  educational  works.  Somewhat  of  a  the- 
ologian and  an  ardent  student  and  expounder  of  phi- 
losophy, William  R.  Alger  has  made  himself  widely 
known  by  his  books  on  The  Genius  of  SoHtude, 
Friendships  of  Women,  and  The  Scliool  of  Life.  His 
fine  literary  judgments,  his  artistic  appreciations,  and 
his  richness  of  sentiment  and  imagination  show  them- 
selves in  these  attractive  volumes.  He  has  also  pub- 
lished a  Life  of  Edwin  Forrest,  with  a  Critical  History 
of  the  Dramatic  Art.  His  Critical  History  of  the  Doc- 
trine of  a  Future  Life  is  a  work  of  ripe  scholarship 
and  great  literary  merit,  and  is  everywhere  recognized 
as  an  authority. 

In  the  chapter  on  historians,  in  his  American  Litera- 
ture, Professor  Charles  F.  Richardson  enu- 

Unitanans  as  j^erates  seventeen  writers,  twelve  of  whom 

Historians.  ^^    .       .  ._  •     /-,       i    •  ■,  i 

were  Unitarians.     It  was  m  Cambridge  and 

Boston,  amongst  the  graduates  of  Harvard  College,  that 

American  historical  writing  began,  and  that  it  attained 


UXITARIANISM   AND   LITERATURE  423 

its  greatest  successes.  The  same  causes  that  had  given 
the  Unitarians  pre-eminence  in  other  directions  made 
them  especially  so  in  this,  where  wide  learning  and 
sound  criticism  were  of  importance.  Wealth,  leisure, 
intellectual  emancipation,  sympathetic  interest  in  all 
that  is  human,  combined  with  scholarship  and  plodding 
industry,  gave  the  historians  an  unusual  equipment  for 
their  tasks. 

It  may  be  justly  said  that  historical  AAriting  in  tliis 
country  began  with  Jeremy  Belknap,  the  predecessor  of 
Dr.  Channing  in  the  Federal  Street  Church.  When 
settled  in  Dover,  he  wrote  his  History  of  New  Hamp- 
shire ;  and  after  his  removal  to  Boston  he  produced  a 
biography  of  Watts  and  two  volumes  of  American  Bi- 
ographies. He  first  voiced  the  historical  interest  that 
was  awakened  by  the  establishment  of  national  inde- 
pendence, and  the  desire  to  know  of  the  past  of  the 
American  people.  His  chief  service  to  historical  stud- 
ies, however,  was  in  the  formation  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Historical  Society. 

Hannah  Adams  was  not  only  a  Unitarian,  but  the  first 
woman  in  this  country  to  enter  upon  a  literary  career. 
Her  View  of  Rehgious  Opinions,  first  issued  in  1784, 
afterwards  changed  to  a  Dictionary  of  Religions,  was 
the  earliest  work  attempting  to  give  an  account  of  all 
the  religions  of  the  world.  It  was  followed  by  her 
History  of  New  England,  and  by  her  History  of  the 
Jews.  She  also  took  part  in  the  rehgious  contro- 
versies of  the  day,  her  contest  with  Dr.  Jedediah 
Morse  being  one  of  the  minor  phases  of  the  struggle  be- 
tween the  Unitarians  and  the  Orthodox  Congregational- 
ists ;  and  her  Evidences  of  Christianity,  as  well  as  her 
Letters  on  the  Gospels,  were   written   from   the  Uni- 


424  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

tarian  point  of  view.  Her  books  had  no  literary  value, 
but  in  their  time  they  helped  to  foster  the  grow- 
ing interest  in  American  subjects. 

Alexander  Young,  minister  of  the  New  South  Church 
in  Boston,  rendered  valuable  service  to  liistorical  inves- 
tigations by  his  Chronicles  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  of  the 
Colony  of  Plymouth  and  his  Chronicles  of  the  First 
Planters  of  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  works 
that  were  scholarly,  accurate,  and  judicious.  Perhaps 
his  most  important  service  was  the  editing  of  the  Li- 
brary of  Old  English  Prose  Writers,  in  nine  volumes, 
which  appeared  from  1831  to  1834,  and  included  such 
works  as  Sidney's  Defence  of  Poesie  and  Sir  Thomas 
Browne's  Urn  Burial.  Of  his  historical  works,  O.  B. 
Frotliingham  has  justly  said  that  "  they  showed  exten- 
sive and  accurate  knowledge,  extraordinary  zeal  in 
research,  singular  impartiality  of  judgment,  great  activ- 
ity of  mind,  a  strong  inclination  towards  ethical  as  dis- 
tinguished from  speculative  subjects,  a  passionate  love 
of  books  and  elegant  letters."  * 

Of  the  greater  historians,  Bancroft,  Prescott,  Motley, 
Hildreth,  Sparks,  Palfrey,  Ticknor,  Parkman,  Higgin- 
son,  Parton,  and  Fiske  were  Unitarians.  Three  of  these 
men  were  sons  of  Unitarian  ministers,  and  four  of  them 
prepared  for  that  profession  or  entered  upon  its  duties. 
It  is  not  desirable  that  any  attempt  should  be  made  here 
to  estimate  their  historical  labors,  for  their  position  and 
their  achievements  are  well  known. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  give  an  account  of  the  Uni- 
tarian connections  and  sympathies  of  these  writers,  but 
the  materials  are  not  at  hand  in  the  case  of  most  of 
them.     One  or  two  illustrations  will  suffice  for  them 

*  Boston  Unitarianism,  1(38. 


UNITARIANISM   AND   LITER ATUKE  425 

all,  indicating  their  religious  tastes  and  preferences. 
In  1829  Prescott  made  a  careful  examination  of  the 
evidences  for  belief  in  Christianity,  and  his  biographer 
says  that  "  the  conclusions,  at  which  he  arrived  were, 
that  the  narratives  of  the  Gospels  were  authentic ;  and 
that,  even  if  Christianity  were  not  a  divine  revelation, 
no  system  of  morals  was  so  hkely  to  fit  him  for  happi- 
ness here  and  hereafter.  But  he  did  not  find  in  the 
Gospels  or  in  any  part  of  the  New  Testament  the  doc- 
trines commonly  accounted  orthodox,  and  he  dehber- 
ately  recorded  his  rejection  of  them."  At  a  later  time 
he  stated  his  creed  in  these  words :  "  To  do  well  and 
act  justly,  to  fear  and  to  love  God,  and  to  love  our 
neighbor  as  ourselves  —  in  these  is  the  essence  of  relig- 
ion. To  do  this  is  the  safest,  our  only  safe  course. 
For  what  we  can  believe  we  are  not  responsible,  sup- 
posing we  examine  candidly  and  patiently.  For  what 
we  do  we  shall  indeed  be  accountable.  The  doctrines 
of  the  Saviour  unfold  the  whole  code  of  morals  by 
which  our  conduct  should  be  regulated."  *  Prescott 
was  a  regular  attendant  at  the  First  Church  in 
Boston. 

In  liis  biography  of  George  Ticknor,  George  S. 
HiUiard  says  that  "the  strong  religious  impressions 
which  Mr.  Ticknor  received  in  early  years  deepened  as 
his  character  matured  into  personal  convictions,  the  con- 
firmed and  ruhng  principles  of  his  hfe.  He  had  been 
brought  up  in  the  doctrines  of  Calvinistic  orthodoxy, 
but  later  serious  reflection  led  him  to  reject  those  doc- 
trines ;  and  soon  after  his  return  from  Europe  he  joined 
Dr.  Channing's  church,  of  which  he  continued  through 
life  a  faithful  member.    He  was  a  sincere  Liberal  Chris- 

*  George  Ticknor,  Life  of  William  Hickling  Prescott,  91, 164. 


426  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

tian,  and  his  convictions  were  firm,  but  tliey  were  held 
without  bigotry,  and  he  never  allowed  them  to  interfere 
with  kindliness  and  courtesy."  It  may  be  added  that 
Ticknor  was  an  active  memb.er  of  the  church  -with  which 
he  Avas  connected,  that  in  1822  he  took  charge  of  a  class 
of  boys  in  the  Sunday-school,  which  he  kept  for  eight 
years.  In  1839  and  the  next  year  he  gave  a  course  of 
instruction  in  the  history  and  contents  of  the  Bible  to  a 
class  of  young  girls,  for  which  he  prepared  himself  care- 
fully.* 

The  influence  exerted  by  the  historians  in  teaching 
love  of  country  and  a  true  patriotism  may  be  accounted 
as  very  large.  That  men  thoroughly  grounded  in  prin- 
ciples of  religious  liberty,  in  high  ideals  of  justice  and 
humanity,  in  the  broadest  spirit  of  toleration  and  free- 
dom of  opinion,  should  have  written  our  histories,  is  of 
no  small  importance  in  the  formation  of  American 
character.  That  they  have  made  many  Unitarians  we 
cannot  suppose,  but  that  their  influence  has  been  large 
in  the  development  of  a  true  spirit  of  nationality  we 
have  a  right  to  think.  They  have  indicated  concretely 
the  effects  of  bigotry  and  intolerance,  and  they  have 
not  failed  to  point  out  the  defects  in  the  practices  of  the 
Pui'itans.  In  so  far  as  they  have  had  to  deal  vsdth  re- 
ligious subjects,  they  have  taught  the  true  Unitarian 
idea  of  liberty  of  conscience  and  freedom  of  opinion. 
They  have  wisely  helped  to  make  it  possible  for  many 
religions  to  live  kindly  side  by  side,  and  to  give 
every  creed  the  right  of  utterance.  These  ideals  had 
been  developed  before  our  historians  began  to  write,  but 
these  men  have  helped  to  make  them  the  inheritance  of 
the  whole    nation.     All   the   more  effective   has   been 

*  George  S.  Hillard,  Life,  Letters,  and  Journals  of  George  Ticknor,  327. 


UNITARIANISM   AND   LITERATURE  427 

their  teaching  that  it  has  grown  out  of  tlie  events  of  our 
history,  and  has  not  been  the  voice  of  a  merely  per- 
sonal opinion.  But  we  owe  much  to  them  that  they 
have  seen  the  true  meaning  of  our  history,  and  that 
they  have  uttered  it  with  clearness  of  interpretation 
and  with  vigorous  moral  emphasis. 

A  considerable  number  of  the  leading  men  of  science 

have  been  Unitarians.  Notable  among  the 
Unitarians    mathematicians    were    Nathaniel    Bowditch, 

Benjamin  Peirce,  and  Thomas  Hill,  who  was 
president  of  Antioch  College  and  of  Harvard  University. 
Among  the  astronomers  have  been  Benjamin  Gould, 
Maria  Mitchell,  Asaph  Hall,  and  Edward  C.  Pickering. 
Of  Maria  Mitchell  it  was  said  that  she  "  was  entirely  ig- 
norant of  the  peculiar  phrases  and  customs  of  rigid  sec- 
tarians." Her  biographer  says  she  "  never  joined  any 
church,  but  for  years  before  she  left  Nantucket  she  at- 
tended the  Unitarian  church,  and  her  sympathies,  as  long 
as  she  lived,  were  with  that  denomination,  especially  with 
the  more  liberally  inclined  portion."  *  James  Jackson, 
the  first  physician  of  the  Massachusetts  General  Hospital, 
should  be  named  in  this  connection.  Joseph  Lovering, 
the  physicist,  and  Jeffries  Wyman,  the  comparative  an- 
atomist, are  also  to  be  included.  And  here  belongs 
Louis  Agassiz,  who  has  had  more  influence  than  any 
other  man  in  developing  an  interest  in  science  among 
the  people  generally.  He  gave  to  scientific  investiga- 
tions the  largest  importance  for  scientific  men  them- 
selves. At  the  same  time  he  was  a  religious  man  and  a 
theist.  "  In  religion,"  says  his  biographer,  "  Agassiz 
was  very  hberal  and  tolerant,  and  respected  the  views 

*  Phoebe  Mitchell  Kendall,  Life,  Letters,  and  Journals  of  Maria  Mitch- 
eU,  239. 


428  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

and  convictions  of  every  one.  In  his  youth  and  early 
manhood,  Agassiz  was  undoubtedly  a  materialist,  or, 
more  exactly,  a  sceptic  ;  but  in  time,  and  little  by  httle, 
his  studies  led  him  to  belief  in  a  divine  Creative 
Power.  He  was  more  in  sympathy  with  Unitarianism 
than  with  any  other  Christian  denomination."  * 

A  considerable  number  of  essayists,  lecturers,  and 
general  writers  have  been  Unitarians.  Among 
Essayists.  ^^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^  Edwin  P.  Whipple,  George 
Ripley,  Mrs.  Ednah  D.  Cheney,  John  S. 
Dwight,  Professor  Charles  EHot  Norton,  Henry  T. 
Tuckerman,  James  T.  Fields,  and  Professor  Francis 
J.  Child.  These  writers  represent  several  phases  of 
Unitarian  opinion,  but  they  belong  to  this  fellowship  by 
birthright  or  intellectual  sympathies.  In  the  same 
company  may  be  placed  Henry  D.  Thoreau  and  John 
Burroughs,  not  because  they  had  any  direct  connection 
with  Unitarianism,  but  because  the  religious  convictions 
they  expressed  are  such  as  most  Unitarians  accept. 

To  the  Unitarian  fellowship  belong  Margaret  Fuller, 
Lydia  Maria  Child,  Carohne  M.  Kirkland,  Grace  Green- 
wood (Mrs.  Lippincott),  and  Julia  Ward  Howe.  All 
the  early  associations  of  Margaret  Fuller  were  with 
Unitarians ;  and  her  brother,  Arthur  Fuller,  became  a 
Unitarian  minister.  In  her  maturer  hfe  she  was  with 
the  transcendentalists,  finding  in  Rev.  W.  H.  Channing 
and  Emerson  her  spiritual  teachers.  Writing  of  her 
debt  to  Emerson,  she  said,  "  His  influence  has  been 
more  beneficial  to  me  than  that  of  any  American ;  and 
from  liim  I  first  learned  what  is  meant  by  an  inward 
life."  f     She  was  a  pronounced  individualist,  an  intense 

*  Jules  Marcou,  Life  of  Agaasiz,  II.  220. 
t  Memoirs,  I.  194. 


penjamin   Peirce 


Jeffrie 5   WymSkA 


flatK'l.  gowditcK 


L./ggasiz 


UNITARIANISM    AND    LITEKATURE  429 

lover  of  spiritual  liberty,  a  friend  of  those  who  live  in 
the  spirit.  This  may  be  seen  in  what  she  called  her 
credo,  a  sentence  or  two  from  which  will  indicate  her 
type  of  thought.  "  I  will  not  loathe  sects,  persuasions, 
systems,"  she  writes,  "  though  I  cannot  abide  in  them 
one  moment ;  for  I  see  that  by  most  men  they  are  still 
needed."  "  Ages  may  not  produce  one  worthy  to  loose 
the  shoes  of  the  Prophet  of  Nazareth ;  yet  there  will 
surely  be  another  manifestation  of  this  word  which  was 
in  the  beginning.  The  very  greatness  of  this  manifesta- 
tion demands  a  greater.  We  have  had  a  Messiah  to 
teach  and  reconcile.  Let  us  now  have  a  man  to  live  out 
all  the  symbolical  forms  of  human  life,  with  the  calm 
beauty  of  a  Greek  god,  with  the  deep  consciousness  of 
Moses,  with  the  holy  love  and  purity  of  Jesus."  * 

Among  the  novelists  have    been  several  who  were 

Unitarian  ministers,  including  Sylvester  Judd, 
-,     ...      William   Ware,  Tliomas    W.  Higginson,    and 

Edward  Everett  Hale.  Judd's  Margaret  was 
of  the  very  essence  of  transcendentahsm,  besides 
being  an  excellent  interpretation  of  some  of  the 
phases  of  New  England  character.  Ware's  historical 
novels  were  popular  in  their  day,  and  are  now  worth 
going  back  to  by  modern  readers,  and  especially  by 
those  who  do  not  insist  upon  having  their  romances 
hot  from  the  press.  Catherine  M.  Sedgwick  is  another 
novelist  worth  returning  to  by  modern  readers,  and  es- 
pecially by  those  who  would  know  of  New  England  life 
in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century.  She  be- 
came an  ardent  Unitarian,  and  her  biography  gives  in- 
teresting glimpses  of  the  early  struggles  of  that  faith  in 
New    York    City.     Other    Unitarian    women    novelists 

*  Memoirs,  11.  91. 


430  UNITAEIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

were  Lydia  Maria  Cliild,  Grace  Greenwood,  Helen 
Hunt  Jackson,  Louisa  M.  Alcott,  and  Harriet  Prescott 
Spofford. 

In  naming  John  T.  Trowbridge,  Bayard  Taylor,  Bret 
Harte,  William  D.  Howells,  and  Nathaniel  Hawthorne 
as  Unitarians,  no  merely  sectarian  aim  is  in  view.  In 
the  common  use  of  the  word,  Hawthorne  was  not  a  re- 
ligious man ;  for  he  rarely  attended  church,  and  he  had 
no  interest  in  ecclesiastical  formahties.  No  man  who 
has  written  in  this  country,  however,  was  more  deeply 
influenced  than  he  by  those  spiritual  ideas  and  tradi- 
tions which  may  be  properly  called  Unitarian.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  Howells,  who  is  not  a  Unitarian  in 
any  denominational  sense ;  but  his  religious  interests 
and  convictions  bring  him  into  sympathy  with  the 
movement  represented  by  Unitarianism. 

It  may  be  said  of  the  most  popular  novels  of  Edward 
Everett  Hale,  such  as  Ten  Times  One  Is  Ten,  In  His 
Name,  His  Level  Best,  that  they  are  the  best  possible 
interpretations  of  the  Unitarian  spirit;  for  it  is  not 
merely  a  certain  conception  of  God  that  characterizes 
Unitarianism,  nor  yet  a  particular  theological  attitude. 
It  is  the  wish  to  make  religion  real,  practical,  altruistic. 

Unitarianism  has  been  as  friendly  to  poetry  and  the 
other  arts  as  it  has  been  to  philosophy  and 

Unitarian     gj^ig^ge^     j^   j^g   early    days  it   fostered    the 

Artists  "^        "^ 

and  Poets,    artistic   careers    of   Washington  AUston,  the 

painter,  and  Charles  Bulfinch,  the  architect. 

It  has  also  nurtured  the   sculptors,  William  Wetmore 

Story,  who  was   also  poet  and  essayist;    Harriet  Hos- 

mer,  whose  career  shows  what  a  woman  can  accomplish 

in  opening  new  opportunities  for  her  sex ;  Larkin  G. 

Mead  and  Daniel  C.  P"'rench.     To  these  must  be  added 

the  actors  Fanny  Kemble  and  Charlotte  Cushman. 


UNITAEIANISM    AND    LITERATURE  431 

It  is  as  one  of  the  earliest  of  our  poets  that  Charles 
Sprague  is  to  be  mentioned,  and  one  or  two  of  his 
poems  are  deservedly  remembered.  Jones  Very  was 
one  of  the  best  of  the  transcendental  poets,  and  a  few 
of  liis  religious  poems  have  not  been  surpassed.  The 
younger  William  Ellery  Channing  and  Edward  R.  Sill 
belong  to  the  same  school,  and  deservedly  keep  their 
places  with  those  who  admire  what  is  choice  in  thought 
and  individual  in  artistic  workmanship.  As  a  bio- 
grapher of  O.  B.  Frothingham  and  as  a  member  of  his 
congregation,  it  may  be  proper  to  add  here  the  name  of 
Edmund  C.  Stedman. 

Among  our  greater  poets,  Bryant,  Longfellow,  Emer- 
son, Holmes,  Lowell,  Stoddard,  and  Bayard  Taylor  were 
Unitarians.  As  being  essentially  of  the  same  way  of 
thinking  and  believing,  Whittier  and  Whitman  might 
also  be  so  classed.  Though  Whittier  was  a  Friend  by 
education  and  by  conviction,  he  was  of  tlie  liberal 
school  that  places  religion  above  sect  and  interprets 
dogmas  in  the  hght  of  human  needs  and  affections.  If 
he  had  been  born  and  bred  a  Unitarian,  he  could  not 
have  more  sympathetically  interpreted  the  Unitarian 
faith  than  he  has  in  his  poems.  Whitman  had  in  him 
the  heart  of  transcendentalism,  and  he  was  informed  of 
its  inmost  spirit.  To  the  more  radical  Unitarians  his 
pleas  for  liberty,  his  intense  individualism,  and  his 
idealistic  conceptions  of  nature  and  man  would  be  ac- 
ceptable, and,  it  may  be,  enthusiastically  approved. 

William  Cullen  Bryant  early  became  a  Unitarian ;  and 
he  hstened  to  the  preaching  of  FoUen,  Dewey,  Osgood, 
and  Bellows.  "  A  devoted  lover  of  religious  liberty," 
Bellows  said  of  him,  "he  was  an  equal  lover  of  religion 
itself  —  not  in  any  precise,  dogmatic  form,  but  in  its 


432  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMERICA 

righteousness,  reverence,  and  charity.  He  was  not  a 
dogmatist,  but  preferred  practical  piety  and  working 
virtue  to  all  modes  of  faith."  *  It  would  be  difficult  to 
give  a  better  definition  of  Unitarianism  itself ;  and  it  was 
the  large  humanity  of  it,  and  its  generous  outlook  upon 
the  lives  of  individuals  and  nations,  that  made  of  Bryant 
a  faithful  Unitarian. 

Henry  W.  Longfellow  was  educated  as  a  Unitarian, 
his  father  having  been  one  of  the  first  vice-presidents  of 
the  Unitarian  Association, —  a  position  he  held  for  many 
years.  Stephen  Longfellow  was  an  intimate  friend  of 
Dr.  Channing  in  his  college  years,  and  he  followed  the 
advance  of  his  classmate  in  the  growth  of  his  hberal 
faith.  "  It  was  in  the  doctrine  and  the  spirit  of  the 
early  Unitarianism  that  Hemy  Longfellow  was  nurtured 
at  church  and  at  home,"  says  his  brother.  "  And  there 
is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  he  ever  found  these  insuffi- 
cient, or  that  he  ever  essentially  departed  from  them. 
Of  his  genuine  rehgious  feeling  his  writings  give  ample 
testimony.  His  nature  was  at  heart  devout ;  his  ideas 
of  life,  of  death,  and  of  what  lies  beyond,  were  essen- 
tially cheerful,  hopeful,  optimistic.  He  did  not  care  to 
talk  much  on  theological  points ;  but  he  believed  in  the 
supremacy  of  good  in  the  world  and  in  the  universe.''  f 

Although  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  was  educated  in 
the  older  forms  of  religious  beliefs,  he  became  one  of  the 
most  devoted  of  Unitarians.  His  rejection  of  Calvinism 
is  marked  by  his  intense  aversion  to  it,  shown  upon 
many  a  page  of  his  prose  and  poetry.  No  other  promi- 
nent Unitarian  was  so  aggressive  against  the  doctrines 
of  the  older  time.    He  was  a  regular  attendant  at  King's 

*John  Bigelow,  Life  of  Bryant,  274,  285, 

t  Samuel  Longfellow,  Life  of  H.  W.  Longfellow,  I.  14. 


UNITARIANISM   AND   LITERATURE  433 

Chapel  upon  the  preaching  of  Dr.  F.  \V.  P.  Greenwood, 
Dr.  Ephraim  Peabody,  and  Rev.  H.  W.  Foote;  but, 
when  he  was  in  Pittsfield,  for  a  number  of  years  he  went 
to  the  Episcopal  chui-ch,  and  at  Beverly  Farms  in  his 
later  years,  during  the  summer,  he  attended  a  Baptist 
church.  He  was,  therefore,  a  conservative  Unitarian, 
but  with  a  generous  recognition  of  the  good  in  other  re- 
lisrious  bodies.  At  the  Unitarian  Festival  of  1859  Dr. 
Holmes  was  the  presiding  officer,  and  in  liis  address  he 
gave  a  statement  of  the  Unitarian  faith  that  clearly  de- 
fines his  own  religious  position :  — 

We  beUeve  in  vital  religion,  or  the  religion  of  life, 
as  contrasted  with  that  of  trust  in  hierarchies,  estabhsh- 
ments,  and  traditional  formulae,  settled  by  the  votes  of 
wavering  majorities  in  old  councils  and  convocations. 
We  believe  in  evangelical  religion,  or  the  rehgion  of  glad 
tidings,  in  distinction  from  the  schemes  that  make  our 
planet  the  ante-chamber  of  the  mansions  of  eternal  woe 
to  the  vast  majority  of  all  the  men,  women,  and  children 
that  have  Uved  and  suffered  upon  its  surface.  We  be- 
Heve  that  every  age  must  judge  the  Scriptures  by  its 
own  hght ;  and  we  mean,  by  God's  grace,  to  exercise 
that  privilege,  without  asking  permission  of  pope  or 
bishop,  or  any  other  human  tribunal.  We  believe  that 
sin  is  the  much-abused  step-daughter  of  ignorance,  and 
this  not  only  from  our  own  observation,  but  on  the  au- 
thority of  him  whose  last  prayer  on  earth  was  that  the 
perpetrators  of  the  greatest  crime  on  record  might  be 
forgiven,  for  they  knew  not  what  they  were  doing.  We 
believe,  beyond  all  other  beliefs,  in  the  fatherly  relation 
of  the  Deity  to  all  his  creatures ;  and,  wherever  there  is 
a  conflict  of  Scriptural  or  theological  doctrines,  we  hold 
this  to  be  the  article  of  faith  that  stands  supreme  above 
all  others.  And,  lastly,  we  know  that,  whether  we  agree 
precisely  in  these  or  any  other  articles  of  belief,  we  can 
meet  in  Christian  charity  and  fellowship,  in  that  we  all 


434  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

agree  in  the  love  of  our  race,  and  the  worship  of  a  com- 
mon Father,  as  taught  us  by  the  Master  whom  we  pro- 
fess to  follow.* 

Educated  as  a  Unitarian,  James  Russell  Lowell  felt 
none  of  the  animosity  toward  Calvinism  that  was  char- 
acteristic of  Holmes ;  but  his  poetry  everywhere  indicates 
the  hberahty  and  nobleness  of  his  rehgious  convictions. 
That  he  was  not  sectarian,  that  he  felt  no  active  interest 
in  dogmatic  theology  as  such,  is  only  sajdng  that  he  was 
a  genuine  Unitarian.  Writing  in  1838,  Lowell  said,  "I 
am  an  infidel  to  the  Christianity  of  to-day."  f  In  a  let- 
ter to  Longfellow  written  in  1845,  he  made  a  more  ex- 
plicit statement  of  his  attitude :  "  Christ  has  declared 
war  against  the  Christianity  of  the  world,  and  it  must 
down.  There  is  no  help  for  it.  The  church,  that  great 
bulwark  of  our  practical  paganism,  must  be  reformed 
from  foundation  to  weathercock."  |  These  passages  in- 
dicate his  dissatisfaction  with  an  external  rehgion  and 
with  dogmatic  theology.  On  the  other  hand,  his  letters 
and  his  poems  prove  that  he  was  strongly  grounded  in 
the  faith  of  the  spirit.  In  that  faith  he  lived  and  died ; 
and,  if  in  later  years  he  gave  recognition  to  some  of  the 
higher  claims  of  the  older  types  of  Christianity,  it  was  a 
generous  concession  to  their  rational  qualities  and  their 
practical  results,  and  in  no  degree  an  acceptance  of  their 
teachings.  The  definite  form  of  Lowell's  faith  he  ex- 
pressed when  he  wrote,  "  I  will  never  enter  a  chui'ch 
from  which  a  prayer  goes  up  for  the  prosperous  only,  or 
for  the  unfortunate  among  the  oppressors,  and  not  for 
the  oppressed  and  fallen ;  as  if  God  had  ordained  our 

*  Quarterly  Journal,  VI.  359,  July,  1859. 

t  Biography  of  James  Russell  Lowell,  by  H.  E.  Scudder,  I.  63, 

t  Ibid.,  169. 


UNITARIANISM   AND   LITERATURE  435 

pride  of  caste  and  our  distinctions  of  color,  and  as  if 
Christ  had  forgotten  those  that  are  in  bonds."  * 

Emerson  left  the  pulpit,  and  he  withdrew  from  outward 
conformity  to  the  church ;  but  that  there  came  a  time 
when  he  no  longer  felt  an  interest  in  religion  or  that  he 
even  ceased  to  be  a  Christian,  after  his  own  manner  of 
interpretation,  there  is  no  reason  to  assume.  His  radi- 
calism was  in  the  direction  of  a  deeper  and  truer  re- 
ligion, a  religion  of  the  spirit.  He  rejected  the  faith 
that  is  founded  on  the  letter,  on  historical  evidences, 
that  is  a  body  without  a  soul.  He  was  not  the  less  a 
Unitarian  because  he  ceased  to  be  one  outwardly,  for  he 
carried  forward  the  Unitarian  principles  to  their  legiti- 
mate conclusion.  The  newer  Unitarianism  owes  to  liim 
more  than  to  any  other  man,  and  of  him  more  than  of 
any  other  man  the  older  Unitarianism  can  boast  that 
he  was  its  product. 

Such  a  survey  as  tliis  indicates  how  great  has  been 
the  influence  of  Unitarianism  upon  American  hterature. 
There  can  be  no  question  that  it  has  been  one  of  the 
greatest  formative  forces  in  its  development.  "  Almost 
eveiybody,"  says  Professor  Barrett  Wendell,  "who  at- 
tained literary  distinction  in  New  England  during  the 
nineteenth  century  was  either  a  Unitarian  or  closely  as- 
sociated with  Unitarian  influences."  f  More  even  than 
that  may  be  said,  for  it  is  the  Unitarian  writers  who 
have  most  truly  interpreted  American  institutions  and 
American  ideals. 

*  Biogrraphy  of  James  Russell  Lowell,  by  H.  E.  Scudder,  I.  144,  quoted 
from  Conversations  on  Some  of  tlie  Old  Poets, 
t  A  Literary  History  of  America,  289. 


XX. 


THE   FUTURE    OF    UNITARIANISM. 

The  early  Unitarians  in  this  country  did  not  desire 
to  form  a  new  sect.  They  wished  to  remain  Congrega- 
tionalists,  and  to  continue  unbroken  the  fellowship  that 
had  existed  from  the  beginning  of  New  England.  When 
they  were  compelled  to  separate  from  the  older  churches, 
they  refrained  from  organizing  a  strictly  defined  re- 
ligious body,  and  have  called  theirs  a  "movement." 
The  words  "  denomination  "  and  "  sect "  have  been  re- 
pellent to  them ;  and  they  have  attempted,  not  only  to 
avoid  their  use,  but  to  escape  from  that  which  they 
represent.  They  have  wished  to  establish  a  broad,  free 
fellowship,  that  would  draw  together  all  liberal  thinkers 
and  movements  into  one  wide  and  inclusive  rehgious 
body. 

The  Unitarian  body  accepted  in  theory  from  the  first 
the  principles  of  liberty,  reason,  and  free  inquiry.  These 
were  fully  established,  however,  only  as  the  result  of 
discussion,  agitation,  and  much  friction.  Theodore 
Parker  was  subjected  to  severe  criticism,  Emerson  was  re- 
garded with  distrust,  and  the  Free  Religious  Association 
was  organized  as  a  protest  and  for  the  sake  of  a  freer 
fellowship.  In  fact,  however,  Parker  was  never  dis- 
fellowshipped ;  and  from  the  first  many  Unitarians  re- 
garded Emerson  as  the  teacher  of  a  higher  type  of 
spiritual  religion.  Through  this  period  of  controversy, 
when  there  was  much  of  bitter  feeling  engendered,  no 


THE    FUTURE    OF    UNITARIAXISM  437 

one  was  expelled  from  the  Unitarian  body  for  opinion's 
sake.  All  stayed  in  who  did  not  choose  to  go  out, 
there  being  no  trials  for  heresy.  The  result  of  this 
method  has  been  that  the  Unitarian  body  is  now  one  of 
the  most  united  and  harmonious  in  Christendom.  The 
free  spirit  has  abundantly  justified  itself.  When  it  was 
found  that  every  one  could  think  for  himself,  express 
freely  his  own  beUefs,  and  live  in  accordance  with  his 
own  convictions,  controversy  came  to  an  end.  When 
heresy  was  no  longer  sought  for,  heresy  ceased  to  have 
an  existence.  The  result  has  not  been  discord  and  dis- 
trust, but  peace,  harmony,  and  a  more  perfect  fellow- 
ship. 

In  the  Unitarian  body  from  the  first  there  has  been  a 
free  spirit  of  inquiry.  Criticism  has  had  a  free  course. 
The  Bible  has  been  subjected  to  the  most  searching  in- 
vestigation, as  have  all  the  foundations  of  rehgion.  As 
a  result,  no  rehgious  body  shows  a  more  rational  inter- 
est in  the  Bible  or  a  more  confident  trust  in  its  great 
spiritual  teachings. 

The  early  Unitarians  anticipated  that  Unitarianism 
would  soon  become  the  popular  form  of  rehgion  ac- 
cepted in  this  country,  Thomas  Jefferson  thought  that 
all  young  men  of  his  time  would  die  Unitarians. 
Others  were  afraid  that  Unitarianism  would  become 
sectarian  in  its  methods  as  soon  as  it  became  popular, 
which  they  anticipated  would  occur  in  a  brief  period.* 
The  cause  of  the  slow  growth  of  Unitarianism  is  to  be 
found  in  the  fact  that  it  has  been  too  modern  in  its 
spirit,  too  removed  from  the  currents  of  popular  beUef, 
to  find  ready  acceptance  on  the  part  of  those  who  are 
largely  influenced  by  traditional  beliefs.     The  religion 

*Seepp.  131,  328. 


438  UNITARIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

of  the  great  majority  of  persons  is  determined  by  tradi- 
tion or  social  heredity,  by  what  they  are  taught  in  child- 
hood or  hear  commonly  repeated  around  them.  Only 
persons  who  are  naturally  independent  and  self-reliant 
can  overcome  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  embracing  a 
form  of  religion  which  carries  them  outside  of  the  es- 
tablished tradition.  For  these  reasons  it  is  not  surpris- 
ing that  as  yet  there  has  not  been  a  rapid  growth  of 
organized  Unitarianism.  In  fact,  Unitarianism  has  made 
little  progress  outside  of  New  England,  and  those  regions 
to  which  New  England  traditions  have  been  carried  by 
those  who  migrated  westward. 

The  early  promise  for  the  growth  of  Unitarianism  in 
the  south,  from  1825  to  1840,  failed  because  there  was 
no  backgroimd  of  tradition  for  its  encouragement  and 
support.  Individuals  could  think  their  way  into  the 
Unitarian  faith,  but  their  influence  proved  ineffective 
when  all  aromid  them  the  old  tradition  prevailed  as 
stubborn  conviction.  Even  the  influence  of  a  literature 
pervaded  with  Unitarianism  proved  ineffective  in  secur- 
ing any  rapid  spread  of  the  new  faith,  except  as  it  has 
found  its  way  into  the  common  Christian  tradition  by  a 
process  of  spiritual  infiltration.  The  result  has  been 
that  Unitarianism  has  grown  slowly,  because  it  has  been 
obliged  to  create  new  traditions,  to  form  a  new  habit  of 
thought,  and  to  make  free  inquiry  a  common  motive  and 
purpose. 

In  a  word,  Unitarianism  has  been  a  heresy ;  and  there- 
fore there  has  been  no  open  door  for  it.  Most  heretical 
sects  have  been  narrow  in  spirit,  bigoted  in  temper,  and 
intensely  sectarian  in  method.  Their  isolation  from  the 
great  currents  of  the  world's  life  acts  on  them  intellectu- 
ally and  spiritually  as  the  process  of  in-and-in  breeding 


THE   FUTURE    OP    UNITARIANISM  439 

does  upon  animals :  it  intensifies  their  peculiarities  and 
defects.  A  process  of  atrophy  or  degeneration  takes 
place ;  and  they  grow  from  generation  to  generation 
more  isolated,  sectarian,  and  peculiar.  Unitarianism  has 
escaped  this  tendency  because  it  has  accepted  the  mod- 
ern spirit,  and  because  to  a  large  degree  its  adherents 
have  been  educated  and  progressive  persons.  Its  prin- 
ciples of  hberty,  reason,  and  free  inquiry,  have  brought 
its  followers  into  touch  with  those  forces  that  are  mak- 
ing most  rapidly  for  the  development  of  mankind.  Uni- 
tarians have  been  conspicuously  capable  of  individual 
initiative ;  and  yet  their  culture  has  been  large  enough 
to  give  them  a  conservative  loyalty  to  the  past  and  to 
the  profounder  and  more  spiritual  phases  of  the  Chris- 
tian tradition.  While  strongly  individualistic  and  hereti- 
cal, they  have  been  sturdily  faithful  to  Christianity, 
seeking  to  revive  its  earlier  and  more  simple  hfe. 

A  chief  value  of  Unitarianism  in  the  past  has  been  that 
it  has  pioneered  the  way  for  the  development  of  the 
modern  spirit  within  the  limits  of  Christianity.  The 
churches  from  which  it  came  out  have  followed  it  far  on 
the  way  it  has  travelled.  Its  most  liberal  advocates  of 
the  first  generation  were  more  conservative  than  many 
of  the  leaders  are  to-day  in  the  older  churches.  Its 
period  of  criticism,  controversy,  and  agitation  is  being 
reproduced  in  many  another  rehgious  body  of  the  pres- 
ent time.  The  debates  about  miracles,  the  theory  of 
the  supernatural,  the  authenticity  of  Scripture,  the 
nature  of  Christ,  and  other  problems  that  are  now  agitat- 
ing most  of  the  progressive  Protestant  denominations, 
are  almost  precisely  those  that  exercised  Unitarians  years 
ago.  The  only  final  solution  of  these  problems,  that 
will  give  peace  and  harmony,   is  that  of  free  inquiry 


440  UNITARIANISM    IN    AMEKICA 

and  rational  interpretation,  which  Unitarians  have 
finally  accepted.  If  other  religious  bodies  would  profit 
by  this  experience  and  by  the  Unitarian  method  for  the 
solution  of  these  problems,  it  would  be  greatly  to  their 
advantage. 

^  The  Unitarian  churches  have  been  few  in  number,  and 
they  have  suffered  from  isolation  and  provincialism. 
These  defects  of  the  earlier  period  have  now  in  part 
passed  away,  new  traditions  have  been  created,  a  cosmo- 
politan spirit  has  been  developed,  and  Unitarianism  has 
become  a  world  movement.  This  was  conspicuously 
indicated  at  the  seventy-fifth  anniversary  of  the  organ- 
ization of  the  American  Unitarian  Association,  and  in 
the  formation  of  The  International  Council  of  Unitarian 
and  Other  Liberal  Religious  Thinkers  and  Workers.  It 
was  then  shown  that  Unitarianism  has  found  expression 
in  many  parts  of  the  world,  that  it  answers  to  an  intel- 
lectual and  spiritual  need  of  the  time,  and  that  it  is  cap- 
able of  interpreting  the  religious  convictions  of  persons 
belonging  to  many  phases  of  human  development  and 
culture.  A  broader,  more  philosophical,  and  humaner 
tradition  is  being  formed,  that  will  in  time  become  a 
wide-reaching  influence  for  the  development  of  a  relig- 
ious life  that  will  be  at  once  more  scientific  and  more 
spiritual  in  its  nature  than  anything  the  past  has  pro- 
duced. 

The  promise  of  Unitarianism  for  the  future  does  not 
consist  in  its  becoming  a  sect  and  in  its  striving  for  the 
development  of  merely  denominational  interests,  but  in 
its  cultivation  of  the  deeper  spiritual  life  and  in  its 
cosmopolitan  sympathy  with  all  phases  of  religious 
growth.  Its  mission  is  one  with  philanthropy,  charity, 
and   altruism.       Its   attitude    should    be    that    of    free 


THE   FUTURE   OF   UNITARIANISM  441 

inquiry,  loyalty  to  the  spirit  of  philosophy  and  science, 
and  fidehty  to  the  largest  results  of  human  progress. 
It  should  always  represent  justice,  righteousness,  and 
personal  integrity.  That  promise  is  not  to  be  found 
in  the  rapid  multiphcation  of  its  churches  or  in  its  de- 
votion to  propagandist  aims,  but  in  its  loyalty  to  the 
free  spirit  and  in  its  exemphfication  of  the  worth  and 
beauty  of  the  religion  of  humanity.  As  a  sect,  it  will 
fail ;  but  as  a  movement  towards  a  larger  faith,  a  purer 
life,  and  a  more  inclusive  fellowship,  the  future  is  on 
its  side. 

While  recognizing  the  Unitarian  as  a  great  pioneer 
movement  in  religion,  it  should  be  seen  that  its  strong 
individualism  has  been  a  cause  of  its  slow  growth.  Un- 
til recently  the  Unitarian  body  has  been  less  an  organic 
phase  of  the  rehgious  hfe  of  the  time  than  a  group  of 
isolated  churches  held  together  only  by  the  spontaneous 
bonds  of  fellowship  and  good  will.  Such  a  body  can 
have  httle  effective  force  in  any  effort  at  missionary 
propagandism  or  in  making  its  spirit  dominant  in  the  re- 
ligious life  of  the  country.  As  heredity  and  variation 
are  but  two  phases  of  organic  growth,  so  are  tradition , 
and  individual  initiative  but  two  phases  of  social  prog- 
ress. In  both  processes  —  organic  gro^vth  and  social 
progress  —  the  primary  force  is  the  conservative  one, 
that  maintains  what  the  past  has  secured.  If  individ- 
uaUsm  is  necessary  to  healthy  growth,  associative  action 
is  essential  to  any  growth  whatever  of  the  social  body. 
In  so  far  as  individual  perfection  can  be  attained,  it  can- 
not be  by  seeking  it  as  an  end  in  itself:  it  can  be 
reached  only  by  means  of  that  which  conduces  to  gen- 
eral social  progress. 

It  may  be  questioned  whether  there  is  any  large  fut- 


442  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

ure  for  Unitarianism  unless  all  excessive  individualism 
is  modified  and  controlled.  Such  individualism  is  in 
opposition  to  the  altruistic  and  associative  spirit  of  the 
present  time.  Liberty  is  not  an  end  in  itself,  but  its 
value  is  to  be  fomid  in  the  opportunity  it  gives  for  a 
natural  and  fitting  association  of  individuals  with  each 
other.  Freedom  of  rehgious  inquiry  is  but  an  instru- 
ment for  securing  spiritual  growth,  not  merely  for  the  in- 
dividual, but  for  all  mankind.  So  long  as  Uberty  of 
thought  and  spiritual  freedom  remain  the  means  of  in- 
dividual gratification,  they  are  ineffective  as  spiritual 
forces.  They  must  be  given  a  wider  heritage  in  the  life 
of  mankind  before  they  can  accomphsh  their  legitimate 
results  in  securing  for  men  freedom  from  the  external 
bonds  of  traditionalism.  Even  reason  is  but  an  instru- 
ment for  securing  truth,  and  not  truth  itself. 

Rightly  understood,  authority  in  the  church  is  but  the 
principle  of  social  action,  respect  for  what  mankind  has 
gained  of  spiritual  power  through  its  centuries  of  devel- 
opment. Authority  is  therefore  as  necessary  as  free- 
dom, and  the  two  must  be  reconciled  in  order  that 
progress  may  take  place.  When  so  understood  and  so 
limited,  authority  becomes  essential  to  all  growth  in 
freedom  and  individuality.  What  above  all  else  is 
needed  in  religion  is  social  action  on  the  part  of  free- 
dom-loving men  and  women,  who,  in  the  strength  of 
their  individuality,  co-operate  for  the  attainment,  not  of 
their  own  personal  good,  but  the  advancement  of  man- 
kind. Tliis  is  what  Unitarianism  has  striven  for,  and 
what  it  has  gained  in  some  measure.  It  has  sought  to 
make  philanthropy  the  test  of  piety,  and  to  make  hb- 
erty  a  means  of  social  fidelity. 

Free   inquiry   cannot   mean   liberty  to  think  as  one 


THE   FUTURE   OF   UNITARIANISM  443 

pleases,  but  only  to  think  the  truth,  and  to  recognize 
with  submissive  spirit  the  absolute  conditions  and  the 
limitations  of  the  truth.  Though  religion  is  Hfe  and 
not  a  creed,  it  none  the  less  compels  the  individual  to 
loyalty  of  social  action ;  and  that  means  nothing  more 
and  nothing  less  than  faitlifulness  to  what  will  make  for 
the  common  good,  and  not  primarily  what  will  minister 
to  one's  own  personal  development,  intellectually  and 
spiritually. 

The  future  of  Unitarianism  will  depend  on  its  ability 
further  to  reconcile  individualism  with  associative  action, 
the  spirit  of  free  inquiry  with  the  larger  human  tradi- 
tion. Its  advantage  cannot  be  found  in  the  abandon- 
ment of  Christianity,  which  has  been  the  source  and 
sustaining  power  of  its  life,  but  in  the  development  of 
the  Chiistian  tradition  by  the  processes  of  modern 
thought.  The  real  promise  of  Unitarianism  is  in  identi- 
fying itself  with  the  altruistic  spirit  of  the  age,  and  in 
becoming  the  spiritual  mterpreter  of  the  social  aspira- 
tions of  mankind.  In  order  to  this  result  it  must  not 
only  withdraw  from  its  extreme  individualism,  but 
bring  its  liberty  into  organic  relations  with  its  spirit 
of  social  fidelity.  It  mil  then  welcome  the  fact  that 
freedom  and  authority  are  identical  in  their  deeper 
meanmgs.  It  will  discover  that  service  is  more  impor- 
tant than  culture,  and  that  culture  is  of  value  to  the 
end  that  service  may  become  more  effective.  Then  it 
will  cheerfully  recognize  the  truth  that  the  social  ob- 
ligation is  as  important  as  the  individual  right,  and  that 
the  two  make  the  rounded  whole  of  human  action. 


APPENDIX. 


A.    Formation  of  the  Local  Conferences. 

The  local  conferences  came  into  existence  in  the  following 
order  :  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota  Quarterly  (Conference,  organ- 
ized at  Sheboygan,  Wis.,  October  24,  1866  ;  New  York  Central 
Conference  of  Liberal  Christians,  Rochester,  November  21, 
1866  ;  Conference  of  Unitarian  and  Other  Christian  Churches 
of  the  Middle  and  Southern  States,  Wilmington,  Del.,  Novem- 
ber 22,  1866  ;  Norfolk  Conference  of  Unitarian  and  Other 
Christian  Churches,  Dedham,  Mass.,  November  28,  1866  ;  New 
York  and  Hudson  River  Local  Conference,  New  York,  Decem- 
ber 6,  1866  ;  Essex  Conference  of  Liberal  Christian  Churches, 
Salem,  Mass.,  December  11,  1866;  Lake  Erie  Conference  of 
Unitarian  and  Other  Christian  Societies,  Meadville,  Penn.,  De- 
cember 11,  1866  ;  Worcester  County  Conference  of  Congrega- 
tional (Unitarian)  and  Other  Christian  Societies,  Worcester, 
Mass.,  December  12,  1806;  South  Middlesex  Conference  of 
Congregational  Unitarian  and  Other  Christian  Societies,  Cam- 
bridgeport,  Mass.,  December  12,  1860  ;  Suffolk  Conference  of 
Unitarian  and  Other  Christian  Churches,  Boston,  December 
17, 1866  ;  North  Middlesex  Conference  of  Unitarian  Congrega- 
tional and  Other  Christian  Churches,  Littleton,  Mass.,  Decem- 
ber 18,  1866. 

The  Champlain  Liberal  Christian  Conference,  Montpelier, 
Vt.,  January  9,  1867;  the  Connecticut  Valley  Conference  of 
Congregational  Unitarian  and  Other  Christian  Churches,  Green- 
field, Mass.,  January  16,  1867;  the  Plymouth  and  Bay  Con- 
ference, Hingham,  Mass.,  February  5,  1867  ;  the  Ohio  Valley 
Conference  of  Unitarian  and  Other  Christian  Churches,  Louis- 
ville, Ky.,  February  22,  1807;  the  Channing  Conference, 
Providence,  R.I.,  April  17,  1867  ;  Liberal  Christian  Conference 
of  Western  Maine,  Brunswick,  Me.,  October  22,  1807. 


APPENDIX  445 

The  Local  Conference  of  Liberal  Christians  of  the  Missouri 
Valley,  Weston,  Mo.,  March  18,  1868  ;  the  Chicago  Confer- 
ence of  Unitarian  Churches,  Chicago,  December  2,  1868 ; 
Western  Illinois  and  Iowa  Conference  of  Unitarian  and  Other 
Christian  Churches,  Sheffield,  111.,  January  28,  1869  ;  Cape  Cod 
Conference  of  Unitarian  Congregational  and  Other  Liberal 
Christian  Churches,  Barnstable,  Mass.,  November  30,  1870; 
Conference  of  Liberal  Christians  of  the  Missouri  Valley,  Kan- 
sas City,  Mo.,  May  3,  1871 ;  Michigan  Conference  of  Unitarian 
and  Other  Christian  Churches,  Jackson,  October  21, 1875  ;  the 
Fraternity  of  lUinois  Liberal  Christian  Societies,  Bloomington, 
November  11, 1875  ;  Iowa  Association  of  Unitarian  and  Other 
Independent  Churches,  Burhngton,  June  1,  1877  ;  Indiana 
Conference  of  Unitarian  and  Independent  Keligious  Societies, 
Hobart,  October  1 ,  1878  ;  Ohio  State  Conference  of  Unitarian 
and  Other  Liberal  Societies,  Cincinnati,  May,  1879. 

Kansas  Unitarian  Conference,  December  2,  1880  ;  Nebraska 
Unitarian  Association,  Omaha,  November  9,  1882  ;  the  South- 
ern Conference  of  Unitarian  and  Other  Christian  Churches, 
Atlanta,  Ga. ,  April  24,  1884 ;  the  New  York  Conference  of 
Unitarian  Churches  superseded  the  New  York  and  Hudson 
Biver  Conference  at  a  session  held  in  New  York,  April  29, 
1885 ;  Pacific  Unitarian  Conference,  San  Francisco,  November 
2, 1885  ;  the  Illinois  Conference  of  Unitarian  and  Other  Inde- 
pendent Societies  superseded  the  Illinois  Fraternity  in  1885  ; 
Minnesota  Unitarian  Conference,  St.  Paul,  November  17, 1887; 
Hancock  Conference  of  Unitarian  and  Other  Christian 
Churches,  Bar  Harbor,  Me.,  August  8,  1889  ;  Missouri  Valley 
Unitarian  Conference  superseded  the  Kansas  Unitarian  Con- 
ference, December  2,  1889. 

Kocky  Mountain  Conference  of  Unitarian  and  Other  Liberal 
Christian  Churches,  Denver,  Col.,  May  17,  1890;  the  Unita- 
rian Conference  of  the  Middle  States  and  Canada,  Brooklyn, 
N.Y.,  November  19,  1890,  superseded  New  York  State  Confer- 
ence ;  Central  States  Conference  of  Unitarian  Churches,  Cin- 
cinnati, December  9,  1891,  superseded  the  Ohio  State  Confer- 
ence ;  Pacific  Northwest  Conference  of  Unitarian,  Liberal 
Christian,  and  Independent  Churches,  Puyallup,  Wash., 
August  1, 1892  ;  Southern  California  Conference  of  Unitarian 


446  UNITAKIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

and  Other  Liberal  Christian  Churches,  Santa  Ana,  October, 
1892. 

Four  of  the  early  conferences,  the  New  York  Central, 
Champlain,  Western  Maine,  and  Missouri  Valley,  were  not 
distinctly  Unitarian.  These  were  union  organizations,  in 
which  Universalists,  and  perhaps  other  denominations,  were 
associated  with  Unitarians.  The  New  York  Central  Confer- 
ence refused  to  send  delegates  to  the  National  Conference  on 
account  of  its  union  character.  In  other  conferences,  such  as 
the  Connecticut  Valley  and  the  Norfolk,  Universalists  took 
part  in  their  organization,  and  were  for  a  number  of  years  con- 
nected with  them. 

Most  of  the  conferences  organized  from  1875  to  1885  were 
within  state  limits  ;  but  those  organized  subsequently  to  1885 
were  more  distinctly  district  conferences,  and  included  several 
states.  Several  of  the  conferences  have  been  reorganized  in 
order  to  bring  them  into  harmony  with  the  prevailing  theory 
of  state  or  district  limits  at  the  time  when  such  action  took 
place.  A  few  of  the  conferences  had  only  a  name  to  live,  and 
they  soon  passed  out  of  existence. 

In  the  local,  as  in  the  National  Conference,  two  purposes 
contended  for  expression,  the  one  looking  to  the  uniting  of  all 
liberal  denominations  in  one  general  organization,  and  the 
other  to  the  promotion  of  distinctly  Unitarian  interests.  In 
the  National  Conference  the  denominational  purpose  controlled 
the  aims  kept  most  clearly  in  view  ;  but  the  other  purpose 
found  expression  in  the  addition  of  "  Other  Christian  Churches  " 
to  the  name,  though  only  in  the  most  limited  way  did  such 
churches  connect  themselves  with  the  conference.  The  local 
conferences  made  like  provision  for  those  not  wishing  to  call 
themselves  distinctly  Unitarian.  Such  desire  for  co-operation, 
however,  was  in  a  large  degree  rendered  ineffective  by  the  fact 
that  the  primary  aim  had  in  view  in  the  creation  of  the  local 
conferences  was  the  increase  of  the  funds  of  the  American 
Unitarian  Association. 


APPENDIX  447 


B.    Unitarian  Newspapers  and  Magazines. 

There  was  a  very  considerable  activity  from  1825  to  1850  in 
the  publication  of  Unitarian  periodicals,  and  probably  the 
energies  of  the  denomination  found  a  larger  expression  in  that 
direction  than  in  any  other. 

In  Januar}^  1827,  was  begun  in  Boston  The  Liberal 
Preacher,  a  monthly  publication  of  sermons  by  living  min- 
isters, conducted  by  the  Cheshire  Association  of  Ministers,  with 
Rev.  Thomas  R.  Sullivan,  of  Keene,  N.H.,  as  the  editor.  It 
Avas  continued  for  eight  or  ten  years,  and  with  considerable 
success. 

With  November,  1827,  Rev.  William  Ware  began  the  publi- 
cation in  New  York  City  of  The  Unitarian,  a  quarterly  magar 
zine,  of  which  the  last  number  appeared  February  15,  1828. 

The  Unitarian  Monitor  was  begun  at  Dover,  N.II.,  October  1, 

1831,  and  was  continued  until  October  10,  1833.  It  was  a  fort- 
nightly of  four  three-column  pages,  and  was  well  conducted. 
It  was  under  the  editorial  management  of  Rev.  Samuel  K. 
Lothrop,  then  the  minister  in  Dover. 

The  Unitarian  Christian,  edited  by  Rev.  Stephen  G.  Bul- 
finch,  was  published  quarterly  in  Augusta,  Ga.,  for  a  year  or 
two. 

In  1823  Rev.  Samuel  J.  May  published  The  Liberal  Christian 
at  Brooklyn,  Conn.,  as  a  fortnightly  county  paper  of  eight 
small  quarto  pages.  He  followed  it  by  The  Christian  Monitor 
and  Common  People's  Adviser,  which  was  begun  in  April, 

1832,  its  object  being  "  to  promote  the  free  discussion  of  all 
subjects  connected  with  happiness  and  holiness." 

The  Unitarian,  conducted  by  Rev.  Bernard  Whitman,  then 
settled  in  Waltham,  Mass.,  was  published  in  Cambridge  and 
Boston  during  the  year  1834,  and  came  to  its  end  because  of 
the  death  of  Whitman  in  the  last  month  of  the  year.  It  was  a 
monthly  magazine  of  a  distinctly  missionary  character. 

Of  a  more  permanent  character  was  The  Unitarian  Advo- 
cate, the  first  number  of  which  was  issued  in  Boston,  January, 
1828.  It  was  a  small  12mo  of  sixty  pages,  monthly,  the  editor 
being  Rev.  Edmund  Q.  Sewall.  He  continued  in  that  capacity 
to  the  end  of  1829,  when  it  was  "  conducted  by  an  association 


448  UNITAKIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

of  gentlemen."  The  purpose  was  to  make  a  popular  magazine 
at  a  moderate  price.     It  came  to  an  end  in  December,  1832. 

With  January  1,  1835,  was  issued  in  Boston  the  first  number 
of  The  Boston  Observer  and  Keligious  Intelligencer,  a  weekly 
of  eight  three-column  pages,  edited  by  Rev.  George  Ripley.  It 
was  continued  for  only  six  months,  when  it  was  joined  to  The 
Christian  Register,  which  took  its  name  as  a  sub-title  for  a 
time.  Its  motto,  "  Liberty,  Holiness,  Love,"  was  also  bor- 
rowed by  that  paper. 

The  Western  Messenger  was  begun  in  Cincinnati,  June, 
1835,  with  Rev.  Ephraim  Peabody  as  the  editor.  It  was  a 
monthly  of  ninety-six  pages,  and  was  ably  edited.  Owing  to 
the  illness  of  Mr.  Peabody,  it  was  removed  to  Louisville  after 
the  ninth  number  ;  and  Rev.  James  Freeman  Clarke  became  the 
editor,  with  Rev.  W.  H.  Channing  and  Rev.  J.  H.  Perkins  as 
assistants  for  a  time.  It  was  published  by  the  Western  Unitarian 
Association,  and  was  discontinued  with  the  number  for  May, 
1841.  Among  the  contributors  were  Emerson,  Margaret  Fuller, 
William  Henry  Channing,  Christopher  P.  Cranch,  William  G. 
Eliot,  who  aided  in  giving  it  a  high  literary  character.  For  a 
number  of  years  the  American  Unitarian  Association  made  an 
annual  appropriation  to  aid  in  its  publication. 

The  Monthly  Miscellany  of  Religion  and  Letters  was  begun 
in  Boston  with  April,  1839.  It  was  a  12mo  of  forty-eight 
pages,  monthly.  The  editor  was  Rev.  Ezra  S.  Gannett,  by 
whom  it  was  "designed  to  furnish  religious  reading  for  the 
people,  treat  Unitarian  ojiinions  in  their  practical  bearings,  and 
show  their  power  to  produce  holiness  of  life  ;  and  by  weight  of 
contents  to  come  between  The  Christian  Register  and  The 
Christian  Examiner."  It  was  continued  until  the  end  of  1843, 
when  it  was  absorbed  by  the  latter  periodical. 

With  the  first  of  January,  1844,  was  begun  The  Monthly  Re- 
ligious Magazine,  to  meet  the  needs  of  those  who  found  The 
Christian  Examiner  too  scholarly.  The  first  editor  was  Rev. 
Frederic  D.  Huntington,  who  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Edmund 
H.  Sears,  Rev.  James  W,  Thompson,  Rev.  Rufus  Ellis,  and 
Rev.  John  H.  Morison.  The  last  issue  was  that  of  February, 
1874. 

A  large  weekly  was  begun  in  Boston,  January  7,  1843,  called 


APPENDIX  449 

The  Christian  World,  of  which  Rev.  George  G.  Channing  was 
the  piibHsher  and  managing  editor.  He  was  assisted  by  Rev. 
James  Freeman  Clarke  and  Hon.  John  A.  Andrew,  afterward 
Governor  of  Massachusetts,  as  editors  or  editorial  contributors. 
The  special  aims  of  the  paper  were  "  to  awaken  a  deeper  relig- 
ious interest  in  all  the  great  philanthropic  and  benevolent  en- 
terprises of  the  day."  It  Avas  continued  until  December  30, 
1848.  George  G.  Channing  was  a  brother  of  Dr.  Channing, 
and  was  settled  over  two  or  three  parishes.  The  paper  was 
ably  conducted,  and  while  Unitarian  was  not  distinctly  denom- 
inational. 

The  Christian  Inquirer  was  started  in  New  York,  October 
17,  1846,  and  was  a  weekly  of  four  six-column  pages.  It  was 
managed  by  the  New  York  Unitarian  Association  ;  and  it  was 
largely  under  the  control  of  Rev.  Henry  W.  Bellows,  who  in 

1850  was  assisted  by  Rev.  Samuel  Osgood,  Rev.  James  F. 
Clarke,  and  Rev.  Frederic  H.  Hedge. 

In  1846  was  begun  the  publication  of  the  Unitarian  Annual 
Register  in  Boston  by  Crosby  &  Nichols,  with  Rev.  Abiel  A. 
Livermore,  then  settled  in  Keene,  N.H.,  as  the   editor.     In 

1851  the  work  came  under  the  control  of  the  American  Unita- 
rian Association,  and  as  the  Year  Book  of  the  denomination  it 
was  edited  by  the  secretary  or  his  assistant.  From  1860  to 
1869  the  Year  Book  was  issued  as  a  part  of  the  December 
number  of  The  Monthly  Journal  of  the  American  Unitarian 
Association. 

The  Bible  Christian  was  begun  in  1847  at  Toronto  by  Rev. 
John  Cordner,  the  minister  there,  and  was  continued  as  a 
semi-monthly  for  a  brief  period. 

The  Unitarian  and  Foreign  Religious  Miscellany  was  pub- 
lished in  Boston  during  1847,  with  Rev.  George  E.  Ellis  as  the 
editor.  It  was  a  monthly  magazine  devoted  to  the  explanation 
and  defence  of  Unitarian  Christianity  ;  and  its  contents  were 
mostly  selected  from  the  English  Unitarian  periodicals,  es- 
pecially The  Prospective  Review,  The  Monthly  Reformer, 
Bible  Christian,  The  Unitarian,  and  The  Inquirer. 

During  this  period  The  Christian  Examiner  had  its  largest 
influence  upon  the  denomination,  and  came  to  an  end.  Its 
scholarship  and  its  Uberality  made  it  of  interest  to  only  a  lim- 


450  UNITARIANISM   IN    AMERICA 

ited  constituency,  and  the  publisher  was  compelled  to  discon- 
tinue it  at  the  end  of  1869  from  lack  of  adequate  support.  It 
was  edited  from  the  beginning  by  the  ablest  men.  Kev.  James 
Walker  and  Kev.  Francis  W.  P.  Greenwood  became  the  editors 
in  1831,  Rev.  William  Ware  taking  the  place  of  Dr.  Walker  in 
1837.  From  1844  to  1849  Eev.  Ezra  S.  Gannett  and  llev. 
Alvan  Lamson  were  the  editors,  and  they  were  succeeded  by 
Rev.  George  Putnam  and  Rev.  George  E.  Ellis.  In  July, 
1857,  Rev.  Frederic  H.  Hedge  and  Rev.  Edward  E.  Hale  be- 
came the  editors,  and  continued  until  1861.  Then  the  editor- 
ship was  assumed  by  Rev.  Thomas  B.  Fox,  who  was  for  several 
years  its  owner  and  publisher  ;  and  he  was  assisted  as  editor 
by  Rev.  Joseph  H.  Allen.  The  magazine  was  purchased  b}' 
Mr.  James  Miller  in  1865,  who  removed  it  to  New  York.  Dr. 
Henry  W.  Bellows  became  the  editor,  and  Mr.  Allen  continued 
as  assistant,  until  it  was  discontinued  with  the  December  num- 
ber, 1869. 

One  of  the  purposes  which  found  expression  after  the  awak- 
ening of  1865  was  the  establishment  of  a  large  popular  weekly 
religious  journal  that  should  reach  all  classes  of  liberals 
throughout  the  country.  The  Christian  Inquirer  was  changed 
into  The  Liberal  Christian  with  the  number  for  December  22, 
1866  ;  and  under  this  name  it  appeared  in  a  larger  and  more 
vigorous  form.  Dr.  Bellows  was  the  editor,  and  contributors 
were  sought  from  all  classes  of  Liberal  Christians.  The  effort 
made  to  establish  an  able  undenominational  journal,  of  a  broad 
and  progressive  but  distinctly  liberal  type,  was  energetic  ;  but 
the  time  was  not  ready  for  it.  With  December  2,  1876,  the 
paper  became  The  Inquirer,  which  was  continued  to  the  close 
of  1877. 

There  was  also  planned  in  1865  a  monthly  journal  that 
should  be  everywhere  acceptable  in  the  homes  of  liberals  of 
every  kind.  In  January,  1870,  appeared  the  Old  and  New,  a 
large  monthly  magazine,  combining  popular  and  scholarly  feat- 
ures. The  editors  were  Dr.  Edward  E.  Hale  and  Mr.  Frederic 
B.  Perkins.  In  its  pages  were  first  published  Dr.  Hale's  Ten 
Times  Ten,  and  also  many  of  the  chapters  of  Dr.  James  Marti- 
neau's  Seat  of  Authority  in  Religion.  It  was  discontinued  with 
the  number  for  December,  1875. 


APPENDIX  451 

The  Monthly  Religious  Magazine  was  discontinued  with  the 
February  issue  of  1874  ;  and  the  next  month  appeared  The 
Unitarian  Review  and  Religious  Magazine,  edited  by  Rev. 
Charles  Lowe.  When  Lowe  died,  in  June,  1874,  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Rev.  Henry  11.  Barber  and  Rev.  James  De  Norman- 
die.  In  1880  Dr.  J.  H.  Allen  became  the  editor, —  a  position 
he  held  until  the  magazine  was  discontinued,  in  December, 
1891. 

In  March,  1878,  was  begun  in  Chicago  the  pubHcation  of 
The  Pamphlet  Mission,  a  semi-monthly  issue  of  sermons  for 
missionary  circulation,  with  a  dozen  pages  of  news  added  in  a 
supplement.  In  September  the  name  was  changed  to  Unity  ; 
and  this  publication  grew  into  a  small  fortnightly  journal,  rep- 
resenting the  interests  of  the  Western  Unitarian  Conference. 
A  few  years  later  it  became  a  weekly;  and  it  has  continued  as 
the  representative  of  the  more  radical  Unitarian  opinions, 
though  in  1894  it  became  the  special  organ  of  The  Liberal 
Congress.  The  chief  editorial  management  has  been  in  the 
hands  of  Rev.  Jenkin  LI.  Jones. 

The  Unitarian  was  begun  in  Chicago  by  Rev.  Brooke  Herford 
and  Rev.  Jabez  T.  Sunderland  with  January,  1886,  as  the  organ 
of  the  more  conservative  members  of  the  Western  Conference. 
In  June,  1887,  this  monthly  magazine  was  removed  to  Ann 
Arbor,  Mr.  Sunderland  becoming  the  managing  editor  ;  and  in 
1890  the  office  of  publication  was  removed  to  Boston,  and  Rev. 
Frederic  B.  Mott  became  the  assistant  editor.  In  1897  the 
magazine  was  merged  into  The  Christian  Register. 

In  1880  The  Rising  Faith  was  published  at  Manchester, 
N.H.,  as  a  monthly,  and  continued  for  two  or  three  years. 

In  August,  1891,  The  Guidon  appeared  in  San  Francisco  ; 
and  in  November,  1893,  it  became  The  Pacific  Unitarian,  a 
monthly  representing  the  interests  of  the  Unitarian  churches 
on  the  Pacific  coast.  Mr.  Charles  A.  Murdock  has  been  the 
editor. 

The  Southern  Unitarian  was  begun  at  Atlanta,  Ga. .  January, 
1893;  and  it  was  published  for  five  years  as  a  monthly  by  the 
Southern  Conference. 

In  December,  1891,  was  begun  at  Davenport,  la.,  with 
Rev.  Arthur  M.  Judy  as  editor,  a  monthly  parish  paper,  called 


452  UNITAEIANISM   IN   AMERICA 

Old  and  New.  Other  parishes  joined  in  its  publication,  and  iu 
1895  it  became  the  organ  of  the  Iowa  Unitarian  Association. 
In  1896  it  was  published  in  Chicago,  with  Rev.  A.  W.  Gould  as 
the  editor,  in  behalf  of  the  interests  of  the  Western  Conference. 
In  September,  1898,  its  publication  was  resumed  in  Davenport 
by  Mr.  Judy  ;  and  a  year  later  it  became  again  the  organ  of  the 
Iowa  Association. 

The  New  World,  a  Quarterly  Review  of  Religion,  Ethics, 
and  Theology,  was  begun  in  Boston,  March,  1892,  and  was  dis- 
continued with  the  December  number  for  1900.  Its  editors 
were  Dr.  C.  C.  Everett,  Dr.  C.  H.  Toy,  Dr.  Orello  Cone,  with 
Rev.  N.  P.  Gilman  as  managing  editor. 

The  Church  Exchange  began  in  June,  1893,  and  was  pub- 
lished as  a  monthly  at  Portland,  in  the  interest  of  the  Maine 
Conference  of  Unitarian  Churches,  with  Rev.  John  C.  Per- 
kins as  editor.  In  1896-97  it  was  published  at  Farmington, 
and  in  1897-99  Mr.  H.  P.  White  was  the  editor.  Since  1899 
it  has  been  published  in  Portland,  with  Mr.  Perkins  as  editor. 

The  above  list  of  periodicals  is  not  complete.  More  detailed 
information  is  desirable,  and  that  the  list  may  be  made  full  and 
accurate  to  date. 


INDEX. 


The  foot-notes  and  appendix  have  been  included  in  the  index  with 
the  text. 


Abbot,  Abiel  (Beverly),  131,  133, 

262,  350,  351. 
Abbot,  Abiel  (Peterboro),  409. 
Abbot,  Ezra,  393,  3f»4. 
Abbot,  Francis  Ellingwood,  200- 

204,  207,  210,  211,  212,  415. 
Abolitionists,  353. 
Adam,  51,  G3. 
Adam,  William,  296-298. 
Adams,  Hannah,  265,  423, 
Adams,  Herbert  W.,  114,  409. 
Adams,   John,  58,   136,  351,   377, 

380,  382. 
Adams,  John  Quincy,  366,  380. 
Adams,  Phineas,  95. 
African     Methodist    Episcopal 

Church,  338,  339. 
Agassiz,  Louis,  408,  427,  428. 
Albee,  John,  415. 
Alcott,  Amos  Bronson,  155,  202, 

358,  369. 
Alcott,  Louisa  M.,  178,  368,  430. 
Alger,  William  Rounseville,  146, 

163,  164,  346,  422. 
Allen,  Joseph,  146,  264,  268,  360, 

361,  414. 
Allen,   Joseph  Henry,   165,   261, 

3»)1,  393,  414,  421,  450,  451. 
Allison,  William  B.,  380,  383. 
Allston,  Washington,  98,  4.30. 
Allyn,  John,  131,  133. 
American  literature,  412,  413, 415, 

416,  4;«. 
"American  Unitarianism,"  79, 

82,  101-104. 
Ames,  Charles  Gordon,  168,  214. 
Ames,  Fisher,  382. 
Ames,  Oliver,  382. 
Amory,  John  C,  38."). 
Andover  Theological  School,  93. 
Andrew,  John  Albion,  191,  192, 

196,  324,  3(i7,  382,  449. 
Angell,  George  T.,  3:36. 
Animals,  humane  treatment  of, 

3:35,  .H36. 
Anonymous  Association,  127. 


Anthology  Club,  96. 
Anthology,  Monthly,  93,  95,  390. 
Anthony,  Henry  B.,  367,  380. 
Anthony,  Susan  B.,  368. 
Antinomianism,  16. 
Antioch    College,   172,    193,   197, 

401,  402. 
Anti-slavery,   100,   159,   343,   353- 

367. 
Appleton,  Nathan,  386. 
Arianism,  42,  43,  44,  56,  59,  65,  66, 

70,  83. 
Arminianism,  8,  9,  11,  28,  37-39, 

42,  44,  48 ,  50,  59,  66,  67,  70,  75, 

84,  89. 
Arminius,  8. 
Artists,  4.30. 

Association  of  Benevolent  Soci- 
eties, 255. 
Association  of  Young  Men,  248- 

251,  264. 
Autumnal  Conventions,  173-176, 

187. 
Auxiliaries  of   American  L^ni- 

tarian  Association,  146. 
Ayer,  Adams,  216. 

Ballou,  Hosea,  93. 

Baltimore,  111-113. 

Bancroft,  Aaron,  73,  74,  114,  1.30, 

132,  135,  136,  142,  41.3. 
Bancroft,  George,  380,  413,  414, 

424. 
Baptists,  6,  7,  21,  87,  88. 
Barnard,    Charles   F.,    254,   256, 

260,  332,  337,  361. 
Barnard,  Thomas,  70. 
Barrett,    Samuel,    127,   135,   137, 

144,  264. 
Barry,  Joseph,  333. 
Bartol,    Cyrus    Augustus,     148, 

155,  202,  240,  241,  419. 
Batchelor,  George,  196,  226,  232. 
Beecher,  Henry  Ward,  370. 
Beecher,  Lvman,  384. 
Belknap,  Jeremy,  83,  351,  423. 


454 


INDEX 


Bellamy,  Joseph,  44,  52,  57,  73. 
Bellows,    Henrv    Wliitney,   136, 

14(j,    154,    175,    178-182,     187-189, 

191,  196,    198,  205,   206,  215,  217, 

218,  220,  222,  223,    232,  233,  335, 

363,  409,  431,  449,  450. 
Belsham,  Thomas,  79,  102,  103. 
Benevoleut    Fraternity  of 

Churches,  197,  256,  257,  282. 
Bentley,  William,  71,  80,  90. 
Bergh,  Heury,  335. 
Berry    Street    Conference,   106, 

107,  133. 
Bible,  4,  5,  8,  9,  10,  14,  20,  25,  27, 

32,  40,   45,  48,  50,  53,  55,  60,  64, 

85,  86,  122,  156,  157,  171,  198,  199, 

321,  389,  395,  437. 
Bible  Societies,  100,  1*7,  322. 
Bigelow,  Andrew,  258. 
Birthright  church,  240,  241. 
Bixby,  James  T.,  307,  320. 
Blackwell,   Antoinette    Brown, 

371. 
Blackwell,  Henry  B.,  368. 
Blake,  H.  G.  O.,  415. 
Bond,  Edward  P.,  153. 
Bond,  George,  131,  133. 
Bond,  Henry  F.,  ;M1,  342. 
Book  distribution,  148,  163,  166, 

169,  338. 
Boston,  16,  20,  61,  75,  77,  118,  141, 

160,  213,  383-388,  413. 
Boston  Observer,  The,  448. 
Boston   Provident  Association, 

334,  3.35. 
Boutwell,  George  S.,  367,  382. 
Bowditch,  Henry  1.,  367. 
Bowditch,    Nathaniel,    117,  381, 

427. 
Bowditch,  William  I.,  367. 
Bowdoin,  James,  80,  385. 
Bowles  &  Dearborn,  235. 
Bowles,  Leonard  C,  235, 
Brackett,  J.  Q.  A.,  382. 
Bradford,  Alden,  47,  65,  127,  128, 

132,  133. 
Bradford,  George  P.,  415. 
Bradlee,  Caleb  D.,  336. 
BracUey,  Amy,  181,  338. 
Brattle  Street  Church,  29,  35,  40, 

52,  53,  77,  94,  143,  160,  385,  387. 
Breck,  Robert,  40. 
Briant,  Lemuel,  50,  58. 
Bridgman,  Laura,  326. 
Briggs,  Charles,  144,  151,  235,  361. 
Briggs,  George  W.,  270,  360,  361. 
Brigham,   Charles   H.,   189,  214, 

215,  319,  361. 
British  and  Foreign  Unitarian 

Association,  295,  298,  303. 
Brooks,  Charles,  336,  400. 


Brooks,  Charles  T.,  146,  244,  298, 

;559,  420. 
Brooks  Fund,  166. 
Brown,  Howard  N.,  196,  243. 
Bryant,  William  Culleu,  117,  191, 

195,  243,  381,  431,  432. 
Buckminster,  J.   S.,  94,  98,   390, 

391,  416. 
Bulfinch,  Charles,  4.30. 
Bulfinch,   Stephen    G.,  146,   165, 

268,  270,  271,  361,  447. 
Burleigh,  Celia  C,  369,  370. 
Burleigh,  William  H.,  369. 
Burnap,  George  W.,  114. 
Burnside,  Ambrose  E.,  383. 
Burroughs,  John,  428. 
Burton,   Warren,    139,    257,   361, 

421. 
Bushnell,  Horace,  241. 

Calcutta,  296,  297,  299,  300. 

Calhoun,  John  C,  376,  380. 

Calvinism,  9,  26,  28,  34,  37,  39,  44, 
45,  46,  48,  62,  73,  75,  76,  84,  87,  92. 

Carpenter,  Lant,  154. 

Carpenter,  Mary,  259. 

Gary,  George  L.,  318. 

"Catholic  Christians,"  104,  106, 
123. 

Catholicism,  3,  5,  18,  53. 

Chadwick,  John  White,  157,  216, 
244,  275,  354,  370. 

Chaney,  George  L.,  337. 

Channing,  George  G.,  144,  449. 

Channing,  William  Ellery,  70, 
94,  99,  102,  103,  106,  114,  119,  123, 
125,  129,  130,  135,  142,  146,  148, 
163,  164,  17.3,  174,  184,  199,  321, 
324,  ,328,  343-345,  349,  350,  365, 
399,  402,  415,  432. 

Channing,  William  Ellery,  poet, 
431. 

Channing,  William  Henry,  155, 
176,  200,  258,  359,  361,  365,  368, 
369,  420,  428,  448. 

Chapin,  Henry,  212. 

Chapman,  Maria  W.,  367,  368. 

Charity  work,  85,  252,  254-256, 
322-325,  328. 

Charleston,  S.C,  118. 

Chauncv,  Charles,  second  presi- 
dent flarvard  College,  24. 

Chauncy,  Charles,  minister 
First  Church  in  Boston,  45,  46, 
48,  52,  53,  66-69,  77,  85,  90. 

Cheerful  Letter  Exchange,  288. 

Cheney,  Ednah  D.,  202,  279,  283, 
368,  428. 

Chicago,  167,  213. 
Child,  David  Lee,  359. 

Child,  Lvdia  Maria,  367,  428,  430, 


INDEX 


455 


Children's  Mission,  197,  331-334. 

Ciiillingworth,  William,  5, 10,  12, 
14,  31,  45. 

Choate,  Joseph  li.,  381. 

Christ,  6,  11,  14,  15,  '24,  27,  40,  49, 
50,  5(i,  ()2,  G4,  67,  Gi),  70,  74,  75,  83, 
85,  80,  99,  138,  139,  157,  170,  171, 

193,  198,  200,    206,  207,  209,  210, 
227,  378,  393,  429,  434. 

Christian  connection,    89,    140, 

194,  314,  31.5,  316. 

Christian  Jixaminer,   The,   101, 

15(3,  2;',(i,  416,  449,  450. 
Christian  Inquirer,  The,  449,  450. 
Christian  Monitor,  The,  96. 
Christian  Register,  The,  114-116, 

127,   145,   147,   156,  173,  185,   207, 

232,  264,  29(),  356,  448. 
Cliristian  Union,  Boston  Young 

ISIen's,  214,  216,  336,  337. 
Christian  Unions,  216,  337. 
Christian  World,  The,  145,  147, 

449. 
Christianity,  11-13,  45,  62,  63,  75, 

85,  86,  123,  138,  156,  200,  201,  206, 

209-211,  222,  227,  241,  362. 
Christians,  6,  9,  14,  51,  64, 170,  206, 

205),  222,  224  227. 
Church"  5,  7,  10,  12,  14,  17,  20,  52, 

106,  115. 
Church  and  state,  7,  17,   20,   21, 

23,  27-29,  52,  68,  85-87,  120-123. 
Church    Building   Loan    Fund, 

234. 
Church  membership,   18-20,   27, 

241,  242. 
Church  of  the  Disciples,  242,  327. 
Civil  service  reform,  372-375. 
Civil  war,  171,  175-184,  187,  283. 
Clark  University,  399. 
Clarke,  James  Freeman,  146, 155, 

160,  161,   163,  164,   165,  175,    191, 

192,  V.H,  201,  204,  215,  242,  244, 

273,  307,  312,  318,  327,  360,  361, 

366,  369,  370,  417,  418,  420,    448, 

449. 
Clarke,  Samuel,  13,  44-46,  56,  67, 

70. 
Clarke,  Sarah  Freeman,  404. 
Clifford,  John  II.,  ;382. 
Codding,  Ichabod,  168,  365. 
Codman,  John,  102. 
College  town  missions,  214,  215. 
Collyer,   Robert,    167,    171,    185, 

194. 
Colporters,  148,  169. 
Commerce,  72. 
Committee   on  fellowship,  220, 

221. 
Conant,  Augustus  II.,  169,  172, 

176,  361. 


Conference,  Berry   Street,  106, 

107,  133. 
Confirmation,  241,  242. 
Congregational     independence, 

34,  126. 
Congregationalism,  74,  87,  89,  93, 

117,  119,  194,  1<)9,  241,  436. 
Contributions  to  American  Uni- 
tarian   Association,    142,    153, 

159,  162,  164,   188,    190,  193,  197, 

213,  234. 
Convention,  Autumnal,  173-176, 

187. 
Conversion,  18,  20,  21,  24,  27. 
Conway,  Moncure  D.,  365,  415. 
Cooper  Institute,  215,  408. 
Cooper,  Peter,  381,  408,  409. 
Cordner,  John,  146,  238. 
Cornell  University,  215. 
Corporate  idea  of  church,  5,  7, 

17-19,  20. 
Country  Week,  337. 
Covenants,  Cliurch,  26. 
Cranch,     Christopher    P.,    415, 

448. 
Cranch,  William,  377,  380. 
Creeds,  26,  49,  62,  64,  66,  85,  206. 
Crocker,  Lucretia,  370,  403,  404. 
Crosby,  Nichols  &  Co.,  236. 
Crosby,  William,  334. 
Cudworth,  Warren  H.,  271. 
Curtis,  Benjamin  R.,  382. 
Curtis,  George  Ticknor,  381. 
Curtis,  George  William,  196,  239, 

347,  369,  373-375,  381. 
Cutter,  George  W.,  226. 

Dall,  Caroline  Healey,  165,  202, 

279,  .368,  370,  371. 
Dall,  Charles  H.  A.,  259,  299-302, 

361. 
Dane,  Nathan,  350,  351,  382. 
Davis,  John,  382. 
Dedham,  29,  54,  87,  115,  218. 
Deism,  42. 
Democratic   tendencies,    8,    33, 

34,  37,  90,  121,  174. 
Depositaries,  146,  149,  169. 
Depravity  of  man,  61,  63,  66,  68; 

69. 
Devotional  library,  164. 
Dewey,  Orville,  114,  143,  146,  165, 

174,  191,  267,  354,  415,  431. 
Dexter,  Henry  M.,  22. 
Dexter,  Samuel,  351,  382. 
Dickens,  Charles,  324. 
Dillingham,  Pitt,  339. 
Disciple,  The  Christian,  99-101. 
Dix,  Dorothea,  324,  327,  328-331. 
Dole,  Charles  F.,  274,  352. 
Douthit,  Jasper  L.,  214. 


456 


INDEX 


Doyle,  J.  A.,  22. 
Dunster,  Henry,  24. 
Dwight,  Edmund,  399,  400. 
Dwight,   John  S.,   155,   369,  415, 
428. 

Eaton,  Dorman  B.,  37.3,  381. 
Education,  253,  323,  325,  337-342, 

343,  384,  389,  395-408,  410,  411. 
Education  in  south,  338-340,  410, 

411. 
Education  of  Indians,  340-342. 
Edwards,  Jonathan,  38-41,  44. 
Effinger,  J.  R.,  226. 
Eliot,   Charles  W.,  238,  305,  395, 

397. 
Eliot,  Rev.  Samuel  A.,  232,  245. 
Eliot,   Samuel  A.,   127,  335,  383, 

414. 
Eliot,  Thomas  D.,  196,  212. 
Eliot,  William  G.,  144,  146,  169, 

184,  311,  351,  364,  398,  448. 
Ellis,   George  E.,   146,    164,    267, 

421,  450. 
Ellis,  Rufus,  270,  361,  448. 
Ellis,  Sallie,  289,  290. 
Emerson,  George  B.,  127,  164. 
Emerson,  Ralph  Waldo,  151,  155, 

202,  324,  369,  413,  415,  416,  428, 

431,  435,  436,  448. 
Emerson,  William,  95,  96,  413. 
Emlyn,  Thomas,  57,  58. 
Emmons,  Nathaniel,  55. 
Equality,  33,  38. 
Evangelical  Missionary  Society, 

104,  105,  141. 
Everett,    Charles    Carroll,    196, 

275,  396,  417-419,  452. 
Everett,  Edward,  94,  98,  109,  114, 

351,   380,  382,  391,  397,  399,  407, 

414,  416. 
Everett,  William,  414. 
Exchange  of  pulpits,  101. 

Farley,  Frederic  A.,  146,  165,  361. 
Fearing,  Albert,  238,  324. 
Federal  (now  Arlington)  Street 

Church,  83,  94,  106,  129,  250,  256, 

257,  301. 
Fellowship,  Unitarian,  205,  209, 

211,  219-221,  436,  437. 
Fellowship  with  other  religious 

bodies,  192-195,  296. 
Felton,  Cornelius  C,  397. 
Fields,  James  T.,  369,  428. 
Fillmore,  Millard,  331,  380. 
First  Church  of  Boston,  53,  66. 
Fiske,  John,  22,  307,  424. 
Flagg,  J.  F.,  265,  350. 
Flower  Mission,  337. 
Follen,  Charles,  359,  431. 


Follen,  Eliza  Lee,  266,  367. 
Folsom,  Nathaniel,  319,  361. 
Forbes,  John  Murray,  386. 
Forbush,  T.  B.,  226. 
Forman,  J.  G.,  176,  178,  184. 
Forster,  Anthony,  118. 
Fox,  George  W.,  161, 162,  207-209. 
Fox,  Thomas  B.,  146,  268,  450. 
Francis,   Convers,   110,    153,  200, 

360,  361. 
Francke,  Kuno,  17. 
Franklin,    Benjamin,    376,    377, 

379. 
Fraternity  of  Churches,  Benev- 
olent, 197,  256,  257,  282. 
Freedman's  Bureau,  184,  197. 
Freedom  of  Thought,  1,  3,  5,  8, 

32,  37,  59,  61-64,   70,  71,  89,  115, 

125,  205,  210,  212.  389. 
Freeman,  James,  76,  78,  80,  82,  98, 

111,  114,  344. 
Free  Religion,  203,  210,  211. 
Free  Religious  Association,  194, 

202-204,  207,  225,  436. 
French,  Daniel  C,  430. 
Friend  of  Peace,  345. 
Friends,  88. 
Frothingham,  Nathaniel  L.,  114, 

124,  344,  413,  420. 
Frothingham,  Octavius  B.,   124, 

165,    175,  200,  202,  207,  216,  322, 

323,  366,  369,  387,  392,  394,   413, 

420,  424,  431. 
Fuller,   Margaret,   155,   368,  428, 

429,  448. 
Furness,    William    Henry,    114, 

146,  244,  267,  361,  365,  394,  420. 

Galvin,  Edward  I.,  176,  337. 
Gannett,    Ezra   Stiles,  114,   127, 

128,   134-137,    139,    143,  146,    173, 

191,  266,     346,  350-351,  354,   355, 

450. 
Gannett,  William  C,  225-227,  244, 

277,  290. 
Garrison,    William  Lloyd,   358, 

359,  367,  377. 
Gay,  Ebenezer,  58-60,  77. 
General  Repositary,  The,  97,  390. 
Giddings,  Joshua  R.,  367. 
Gierke,  Otto,  4. 
Giles,  Henry,  361,  420. 
GiJman,  Samuel,  119,  146,  420, 
God,  2,  4,  7,  9,  11,  13,  38,  41,  51,  55, 

59,  60,  64,  68,  70,  73,  90,  157,  198, 

227,  228. 
Goodell,  William,  365. 
Gore,  Christopher,  382. 
Gould,  Allen  W.,  226,  277,  452. 
Gould,  Benjamin,  427. 
Grant.Moses,  248,  264, 265, 344, 350. 


INDEX 


457 


Graves,  Mary  H.,  371. 

Gray,  Frederic  T.,  167,  248,  254, 

256,  2()5,  267,  270,  271,  334,  361. 
Great  Awakening,  46,  66,  210. 
(^reene,  Benjamin  H.,  248,  333. 
Greenhalge,  Frederic  T.,  382. 
Greenwood,  Francis  W.  P.,  101, 

111,  114,  148,  421,  4:{3,  450. 
Greenwood,  Grace  (Mrs.  Lippin- 

cott),  428,  430. 

Hale,  Edward  Everett,  154,  175, 

189,    191,   194,  195,  196,  205,  217, 

218,  269,  270,  318,  323,   342,  429, 

430,  450. 
Hale,  George  S.,  231. 
Hale,  John  P.,  367,  380. 
Hale,  Lucretia  P.,  165,  279,  404. 
Half-way  Covenant,  22,  27,  28,  68, 
Hall,  Asaph,  427. 
Hall,  Edward  Brooks,  127,  146, 

160,  267,  361. 
Hall,  Nathaniel,  361,  366. 
Hall,  Nathaniel,    the   younger, 

387. 
Hamlin,  Hannibal,  383. 
Hampton  Institute,  339,  340. 
Hancock,  John,  385. 
Hancock  Sunday-school,  247, 264, 

265. 
Harte,  Bret,  4.30. 
Harvard  College,  35,  41,  44,   47, 

92,  98,  384,  388,  390,  395-397,  412. 
Harvard   Divinity  School,  108- 

110,    124,  193,  214,  391,  392,  394, 

395,  396,  414,  415. 
Hawthorne,  Nathaniel,  381,  430. 
Haynes,  George  H.,  22. 
Hazlitt,  Rev.  William,  71,  77-79. 
Hedge,  Frederic  H.,  146,  155,  161, 

165,  180,  239,  244,  346,  359,  360, 

361,  415,  417,  420,  449,  450. 
Hemenway,  Augustus,  383. 
Hemenway,  Mary,  405-407. 
Hepworth,  George  H.,  176,  205. 
Herford,  Brooke,  196,  225,  452. 
Heywood,  John  H.,  178,  180,  364. 
Higginson,  Stephen,  130,  133. 
Higginson,  Thomas  Wentworth, 

177,  202,  367,  368,   369,  415,  424, 
429. 

Higher  criticism,  389-395. 
Hildreth,  Richard,  413,  424. 
Hill,  Thomas,  ;520, 361, 397, 420,427. 
Historians,  422-427. 
Hoar,  Ebenezer  Rockwood,  191, 

196,  367,  382. 
Hoar,  George  Frisbie,  196,  367, 

369,  380. 
Holland,  Frederick    West,    144, 

178,  361. 


Hollis  Professorship,  92,  108,  109. 
Holmes,   Oliver    Wendell,    431- 

433. 
Hooker,  Thomas,  16,  25. 
Hopkins,  Samuel,  73. 
Horton,  Edward  A.,  275. 
Hosmer,  Frederick  L.,  226,  244, 

277. 
Ilosmer,  George  W.,  311,  314,  316, 

338,  361. 
Hosmer,  Harriet,  430, 
Hosmer,    James    Kendall,    176, 

338,  415. 
Howard,  Simeon,  66,  78. 
Howard  Sunday-school,  252,  265, 

332. 
Howe,  Julia  Ward,  328,  348,  349, 

368,  370,  371,  428. 

Howe,  Samuel  G.,  180,  325-329, 

367. 
Howells,  William  D.,  430. 
Huidekoper,  Frederic,  317,  319, 

422. 
Huidekoper,  Harm  Jan,  311-314. 
Hunt,  John,  11,  13. 
Hunting,  Sylvan  S.,  176,  214. 
Huntington,   Frederic    D.,    270, 

361,  448. 
Hymns  of  Unitarians,  244,  420. 

Idealism,  45. 
Independents,  7. 
Index,  The,  203,  207. 
India,  72,  248,  296  303. 
Individualism,  1-4,  8,  17,  18,  27, 

63,  90,  125,  205,  210,  211,  224,  343, 

349,  428,  441-443. 
Insane,  care  of,  328-331. 
International  Council,  245,  440. 
Intuition,  2,  4,  12, 

Jackson,  Charles,  130,  387. 

Jackson,  Helen  Hunt,  430. 

Jackson,  James,  427. 

Japan,  303-309. 

Japanese  Unitarian  Association, 

30(t-309. 
Jefferson,   Thomas,  136,  37»-380, 

437. 
Jenckes,  Thomas  A.,  372. 
Johnson,  Samuel,   201,   244,   366, 

369,  419,  420. 

Jones,   Jenkin  I^loyd,  214,    225, 

276,  278,  451. 
Judd,  Sylvester,  217,  240,  241,  361, 

.3(56,  429. 
Julian,  George  W,,  367,  369, 

Kanda,  Saichiro,  305,  306. 
Kendall,  James,  84, 
Kentucky,  119, 


458 


INDEX 


Khasi  Hills,  302,  303. 

Kidder,  Henry  P.,  189,  212,  231, 

238. 
Kindergarten,  492,  493. 
King's  Chapel,  52,  76, 160,  313,  387, 

421. 
King,  Starr,  165,  167,  182,  183,  420. 
Kirkland,  Caroline,  .369,  428. 
Kirkland,   John  T.,  98,  109,  114, 

323,  344,  350,  351,  397. 
Knapp,  Arthur  M.,  .304. 
Knapp,  Frederick  N.,  181. 
Kneeland,  John,  273. 

Ladies'  Commission  on  Sunday- 
school  Books,  279-281. 

Laf  argue,  Paul,  2. 

Lamson,  Alvan,  165,  200,  422,  450. 

Latitudinarianism,  9,  10. 

Lawrence,  Abbott,  385,  386. 

Lawrence,  Amos,  351,  385,  386. 

Leland  Stanford,  Jr.,  Univer- 
sity, 399. 

Leonard,  Levi  W.,  409. 

Liberal  Christian,  The,  193. 

Liberal  Preacher,  The,  447. 

Liberalism,  24,  26,  29,  32,  34,  37, 
46,  49-52,  54,  57,  59,  61,  70,  72,  76, 
85,  87,  88,  94,  104,  106,  111,  122. 

Liberator,  The,  359. 

Liberty,  206,  342,  343,  349. 

Libraries,  289,  409,  410. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  376,  377. 

Lincoln,  Calvin,  127,  161. 

Lincoln,  Levi,  382. 

Lindsey,  Theophilus,  78,  102. 

Little,  Kobert,  119. 

Liturgy,  242,  243. 

Livermore,  Abiel  Abbot,  148, 
169,  317,  318,  361,  366. 

Livermore,  Leonard  J.,  272. 

Livermore,  Mary  A.,  368,  371. 

Local  Conferences,  216-219,  445, 
446. 

Locke,  John,  5,  6,  12,  43,  56. 

Long,  John  £).,  231,  382. 

Longfellow,  Henry  W.,  431,  432. 

Longfellow,  Samuel,  175,  200, 
242,  244,  366,  369,  419. 

Longfellow,  Stephen,  134,  432. 

Lord's  Supper,  27,  240. 

Loring,  Charles  G.,  127. 

Loring,  Ellis  Gray,  359,  369. 

Lothrop,  Samuel  K.,  143,  144, 
160,  1(;3,  236,  350,  447. 

Lovering,  Joseph,  427. 

Low,  A.  A.,  189. 

Lowe,  Charles,  172,  177,  196,  197, 
205,  209,  212,  216,  218,  237,  279, 
370,  451. 

Lowell,  Charles,  94,  99,  109,  114, 
263,  344,  350,  351,  366,  413. 


Lowell,  Francis  Cabot,  385,  386. 
Lowell  Institute,  407,  408. 
Lowell,  James  Russell,  413,  431, 

434  435. 
Lowell,  John,  382,  385. 
Lowell,  .John  Amory,  385,  407. 
Lunt,  William  Parsons,  420. 

MacCauley,  Clay,  .304,  305. 
McCrary,  George  W.,  326,  383. 
Maine  Conference  of  Unitarian 

Churches,  218. 
Mann,  Horace,  166,  327,  329,  351, 

399-402. 
Mann,  Mrs.  Horace,  324,  403, 
Marshall,  John,  376,  380. 
Marshall,  J.  B.  F.,  339,  340. 
Martineau,  James,  165,  450. 
Mason,  L.  B.,  172,  176. 
Massachusetts     Congregational 

Charitable  Society,  119. 
Massachiisetts    Convention    of 

Congregational  Ministers,  120. 
May,    Abby  Williams,  283,  403, 

404. 
May,  Col.  Joseph,  132,  133,  344. 
May,  Rev.  Joseph,  216. 
May,  Samuel,  359-361,  366. 
May,  Samuel  J.,  127, 146,  194,  346, 

351,  356,  358,  360,  361,   366,   369, 

399,  401,  447. 
Mayhew,  Experience,  49,  60. 
Mayhew,  Jonathan,  45,  47,  48,  53, 

58,  60-66,  85,  90,  199. 
Mayo,  Amory  D.,   320,  368,  410, 

411. 
Mead,  Edwin  D.,  406. 
Mead,  Larkin  G.,  430. 
Meadville    Theological    School, 

161,  193,  215,  310-320. 
Methodism,  89,  194. 
Miles,  Henry  A.,  161,  164,  360,  301. 
Miller,  Samuel  F.,  196,  380. 
Milton,  John,  5,  6,  10,  12,  31,  45, 

56. 
Ministry  at  Large,  247-261. 
Miracles,  156,  157,  198,  200,  211. 
Missions,  domestic,  104,  140,  144, 

149-153,    167,    171,    172,   212-214, 

218. 
Mitchell,  Maria,  427. 
Montana  Industrial  School,  341, 

342,  405. 
Monthly  Journal  of  American 

Unitarian    Association,     162, 

184,  237. 
Monthly  Miscellany,  The,  448. 
Monthly    Religious    Magazine, 

448. 
Morehouse,  Daniel  W.,  196. 
Morison,  John  H.,  165,  270,  355, 

356,  448. 


INDEX 


459 


Morrill,  Justin  S.,  380. 
Morse,  Jedediah,  9.%  102,  423. 
Motley,  John  Lothrop,  424. 
Mott,  Lucretia,  202,  369. 
Mumford,   Thomas  J.,  207,  271, 

366,  ::69. 
Munroe,  James,  &  Co.,  235. 
Muzzev,  Artemas   M.,   165,  178, 

359,  360,  361,  422. 

National  Conference:  origin, 
190-195 ;  Syracuse  session,  201 ; 
change  in  constitution,  204; 
Hepworth's  amendment,  207; 
protests  against  dropping 
names  from  Year  Book,  209; 
formation  of  local  confer- 
ences, 218-221 ;  revision  of  con- 
stitution, in  1892,  229;  adjust- 
ment of  Conference  and 
Association,  233;  temperance 
resolutions,  352;  women  rep- 
resented, 369 ;  organ  proposed, 
44{). 

New  Divinity,  73. 

New  Hampshire  Unitarian  As- 
sociation, 217. 

New  York,  119,  21.3,  381,  429. 

New  York  Convention,  190-195. 

Newell,  Frederick  R.,  172,  176, 
184. 

Newell,  William,  361,  414,  420. 

Newell,  William  Wells,  414,  415. 

Nichols,  Ichabod,  140,  142,  165. 

Nitti,  F.  S.,  3. 

North  American  Review,  116, 
416. 

Northampton,  27,  38,  41,  381. 

Norton,  Andrews,  98,  109-111, 
114,  122,  126,  130,  132,  135,  139, 
164,  243,  391,  392,  414,  420. 

Norton,  Charles,  Eliot,  175,  185, 
414,  428. 

Novelists,  429,  430. 

Noyes,  George  Rapall,  110,  114, 
146,  164,  200,  392,  393. 

Nute,  Ephraim,  167,  176. 

Old  and  New,  450. 

Old  South  historical  work,  405- 

407. 
Oriental  religions,  72. 
Orton,  Edward,  338. 
Osgood,  Samuel,  154,  215,  361,  431, 

449. 
"  Other     Christian    Churches," 

201,  219,  446. 
Otis,  Harrison  Gray,  382,  385. 
Oxnard,  Thomas,  80. 

Palfrey,  Cazneau,  173,  361. 


Palfrey,  John  G.,  95,  101, 109, 110, 

114,    117,    126,  127,  14<),  154,  157, 

191,  212,  249,   329,  350,  366,  385, 

391   415    424. 
Panoplist,  The,  93,  102. 
Parish,  29,  115. 
Parker,  Isaac,  351,  382. 
Parker,   Theodore,   155-157,  165, 

267,  327,  328,   343,   361,   :565,   369, 

394,  399,  415,  417,  420,  43(). 
Parkman,     Francis,     historian, 

413. 
Parkman,  John,  154,  .361. 
Parkman,  Rev.   Francis,  74, 95, 

99,  109,  173,  344,  413,  424. 
Parsons,  Theophilus,  86,  117,  351, 

377,  382. 
Parton,  James,  424. 
Peabody,   Andrew  P.,  117,  146, 

148,   173,   239,   260,  313,  323,  360, 

361. 
Peabody,  Elizabeth  P.,  155,  368, 

402,  403. 
Peabodv,  Ephraim,  270,  313,  334, 

335,  433,  448. 
Peabody,  Francis  G.,  331. 
Peabody,  W.  B.  O.,  361,  420. 
Peace  movement,  .343-349. 
Peace  societies,  322,  344. 
Peirce,  Benjamin,  427. 
Perkins  Institute  for  the  Blind, 

323,  325,  326. 
Perkins,  Thomas  H.,  325,  386,  .387. 
Phillips,  Jonathan,  109,  351,  385. 
Phillips,  Stephen  C,  385. 
Pickering,  Edward  C.,  427. 
Pickering,  John,  381. 
Pickering,  Timothy,  377,  381. 
Pierce,  Cyrus,  361,  400,  401. 
Pierce,   John,   114,  131,  133,  344, 

350 
Pierpont,  John,  114,  127,  132,  176, 

243,  350,  351,  361,  365,  420. 
Pillsbury,  Parker,  368,  369. 
Piper,  George  F.,  273. 
Pitts  Street  Chapel,  257,  258,  332. 
Plymouth,  16,  83,  118. 
Poets,  431-435. 
Poor,  care  of,  250,  255,  321,  322, 

334  335. 
Porter,  Eliphalet,  76. 
Portland,  80,  118. 
Post-office  Mission,  289,  290. 
Potter,  William  J.,  176,  200,  203, 

208,  209,  211. 
Pratt,  Enoch,  189,  409,  410. 
Pray,  Lewis  G.,  270. 
Prescott,  William  Hickling,  117, 

:381,  424,  425. 
Priestley,  Joseph,  71,  78,  80,  81, 

83,  118. 


460 


INDEX 


Primitive    Christianity,   48,  67, 

112,  122. 
Prince,  John,  71,  7G,  381. 
Prison  reform,  o27,  328,  329,  343. 
Protestantism,  1,  3,  4,  7,  14,  17, 

18,  15(). 
Publishing   Fund   Society,  107, 

108,  141. 
Publishing    interests,    113,    128, 

145,  162,  164,  165,  184.  / 

Puritanism,  10,  19,  20,  21,  37,  53. 
Puritans,  19,  22. 
Putnam,  Alfred  P.,  216,  420. 
Putnam,  George,  146,  185,  450. 
Pynchon,  William,  23,  24. 

Quarterly  Journal  of  American 
Unitarian  Association,  162. 

Quincy,  Edmund,  359. 

Quincy,  Josiah,  35,  42,  128,  344, 
366,  382,  397,  399. 

Radical,  The,  203. 

Radicalism,  155,  156,  158,  199,  203, 

204,  210,  222. 
Rammohun  Roy,  296. 
Rantoul,  Robert,  127,  351,  399. 
Raiionalism,  6,  6, 12,  31,  44,  45,  55, 

62,  69,  90,  156. 
Reason,  2,  3,  9-11,  13,  31,  37,  90. 
Reed,  David,  114,   127,  129,   145, 

234,  269. 
Reforms,  343,  356. 
Revelation,  12,  13,  20,  46,  66,  69, 

73,  88. 
Reynolds,  Grindall,  232,  238,  239. 
Ripley,  Ezra,  74,  263,  344. 
Ripley,  George,  146,  415,  420,  428, 

448. 
Ripley,  Samuel,  360,  361. 
Robbins,  Chandler,  83,  361,  420. 
Roberts,  William,  297,  298. 
Robinson,  George  D.,  382. 
Robinson,  John,  25,  84. 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  2,  3, 17. 

Saco,  81. 

Safford,  Mary  A.,  371. 

St.  Louis,  141,  184,  225,  259,  398. 

Salem,  16,  29,  54,  70, 76, 80, 118, 218, 

381,  413. 
Saltonstall,  Leverett,    127,  133, 

140,  381. 
Saltonstall,  Sir  Richard,  16,  23. 
San  Francisco,  153,  167,  182. 
Sanborn,  Frank  B.,  202,  369. 
Sanitary  Commission,  176,  178- 

184,  188,  338. 
Sargent,  John  T.,  361,  369,  370. 
Savage,  Minot  J.,  196,  274. 
Scandlin,  William  G.,  176, 177, 182. 


Scientists,  427,  428. 

Scudder,  Eliza,  244. 

Sears,  Edmund  H.,  165,  217,  395, 

420,  448. 
Sectarianism,  125,    131,  149,  150, 

201,  2(56,  356,  436. 
Sedgwick,  Catherine  M.,  369, 381, 

429. 
Sewall,  Edmund  Q.,  361. 
Sewall,  Samuel  E.,  358,  359,  369. 
Shaw,  Lemuel,  382,  387. 
Shaw,  Robert  Gould,  386. 
Sherman,  John,  92,  98. 
Shippen,  Rush  R.,  213,  237,  238. 
Shute,  Daniel,  58,  85,  87. 
Sill,  Edward  Rowland,  415,  431. 
Sin,  original,  50. 
Singh,  Hajom  Kissor,  302,  303. 
Sloan,  W.  M.,  2. 
Smith,  Gerrit,  367,  376,  420. 
Smith,  Mary  P.  Wells,  285,  290. 
Socialism  in  the  church,  3,  4,  17, 

20,  27,  33. 
Society  for  Promoting  Christian 

Knowledge,  Piety,  and  Char- 
ity, 96,  141,  148. 
Society  for  Promoting  Theologi- 
cal Education,  109, 110. 
Society    for    Propagating     the 

Gospel,  120. 
Society    to    Encourage    Home 

Studies,  404,  405. 
Socinianism,  42,  75,  80. 
Solemn  Review  of    Custom   of 

War  344  346. 
Sparks,  Jared,'  111,  114,  117,  119, 

126,  132,  135,  397,  399,   415,   421, 

424. 
Spaulding,  Henry  G.,  274. 
Spirit  of  the  Pilgrims,  The,  9.3. 
Spofford,  Harriet  Prescott,  430. 
Sprague,  Charles,  351,  431. 
Stanton,  Elizabeth  Cady,  368. 
Staples,  Carlton  A.,  176,  214,  259, 

364. 
Staples,  Nahor  A.,  167, 176,  366. 
Stearns,  Oliver,  317,  360,  361. 
Stebbins,  Horatio,  239. 
Stebbins,  Rufus  P.,  161,  188,  189, 

196,  315,  316,  351,  361,  397. 
Stedman,  Edmund  C,  431. 
Stetson,  Caleb,  360,  361,  365. 
Stevenson,  Hannah  E.,  202,  279. 
Stoddard,  Richard  Henry,  431. 
Stoddard,  Solomon,  27,  39,  44,  68, 

241. 
Stone,  Lucy,  367-369. 
Stone,  Thomas  T.,  164,  366,  369. 
Story,   Joseph,   114,  117,  133,  134, 

140,  14.3,  260,  377,  380,  381,  387. 
Story,  William  Wetmore,  4;i0. 


INDEX 


461 


Stowe,  Harriet  Beecher,  384. 

Strong,  Caleb,  385. 

Sullivan,  James,  ;i85. 

Sullivan,  Richard,  128,  129. 

Sullivan,  Thomas  R.,  127,  447. 

Sumner,  Charles,  347,  348,  364, 
367,  372,  380. 

Sunday-school  papers,  266,  269- 
271,  273,  274. 

Sunday-schools,  247,  254,  262-281 ; 
origin  of,  262 ;  Boston  society, 
265;  growth  of,  267:  first  pub- 
lications, 268;  local  societies, 
269;  paper,  269;  national  soci- 
ety, 270;  avrakening  interest, 
272 ;  George  F.  Piper  as  secre- 
tarv,  273;  Henry  G.  Spaulding, 
274 ';  Edward  A.  Horton,  275; 
western  society,  276;  unity 
clubs,  278;  Religious  Union, 
278;  Ladies'  Commission,  279, 
332. 

Sunderland,  Jabez  T.,  225,  301- 
303,  451. 

Talbot,  Thomas,  382. 
Tappan,  Lewis,  134,  137,  139. 
Taylor,  Bayard,  430,  431. 
Taylor,    Edward    T.,    "Father 

Taylor,"  324,  327. 
Taylor,  Jeremy,  5,  12,  14,  31,  56. 
Tavlor,  John,  of  Norwich,  39. 
Temperance  reform,  100, 322,  327, 

349-353. 
Thacher!  Samuel  C,  94,  96,  99, 

103,  344. 
Thayer,  Nathaniel,  134. 
Theatre  preaching,  215,  216. 
Theological  library,  164. 
Thomas,  Moses  G.,  140. 
Thompson,  James  W.,  360,  361, 

448. 
Thoreau,  Henrv  D.,  415,  428. 
Ticknor,  Anna  E.,  404,  405. 
Tickuor,  George,  98,  390,  410,  424, 

525,  526. 
Tilden,  William  P.,  361. 
Tileston,  Thomas,  385. 
Tillotson,  John,  11,  44,  45,  67. 
Toleration,  6,  7,  9,  11,  13,  21,  37, 

43,  61,  67,  So,  89,  103,  107,  121. 
Toy,  Crawford  H.,  274,  452. 
Tracts,  145-147,  163,  248,  300,  307. 
Tracts,  distribution  of,  147,  163, 

184,  290. 
Transcendentalism,  155,  190,  200, 

222,  417,  431. 
Trinity.  13,  14,  42,  45,  55,  58,  63, 65, 

6(>,  ()9,  71,  79,  83. 
Trowbridge,  John  T.,  430. 
Tucker,  John,  75. 


Tuckerman,  Henry  T.,  261,  428. 

Tuckerman,  Joseph,  96,  99,  146, 
247,  250-257,  260,  264,  265,  270, 
282,  297,  298,  322,  323,  331,  334, 
.344. 

Tudor,  William,  116. 

Tullock,  John,  5. 

Tuskegee  Institute,  339. 

Unitarian  Advocate,  447. 

Unitarian  Association,  Ameri- 
can, 117;  discussion  in  anony- 
mous association,  129;  meeting 
at  house  of  Josiah  Quincy,  128; 
Gannett's  statement  of  pur- 
pose, 128;  printed  report  of 
committee,  128;  meeting  in 
Federal  Street  Church,  129; 
discussion  as  to  advisability  of 
organizing,  129;  announce- 
ment at  Berry  Street  Confer- 
ence, 133;  organization,  134; 
officers,  1.35;  name  selected, 
138;  work  of  first  year,  139; 
first  annual  meeting,  140;  mis- 
sionary tour  of  Moses  G. 
Thomas,  140;  effort  to  absorb 
other  societies,  141;  report  of 
directors,  141;  attitude  of 
churches,  142;  receipts,  142; 
presidents,  142:  secretaries, 
143;  missionary  agents,  144; 
incorporation,  145 ;  tracts,  145 ; 
depositaries,  146;  Book  and 
Pamphlet  Society,  147;  distri- 
bution of  books,  148;  colport- 
ers,  148:  missionary  work  in 
New  England,  149;  work  in 
South  and  West,  151 ;  tour  of 
secretary,  152;  contributions 
for  domestic  missions,  153; 
work  of  first  quarter-century, 
154;  influence  of  radicalism, 
155 ;  indifference  of  churches, 
160;  officers,  160;  Quarterly 
and  Monthly  Journal,  162; 
tracts  and  books,  163;  theo- 
logical library,  164 ;  devotional 
library,  164;  publishing  firm, 
165;  niissionary  activities,  167 ; 
Association  and  Western  Con- 
ference, 172;  work  during 
civil  war,  177;  results  of  fif- 
teen years,  184;  meeting  to 
consider  interests  of  Associa- 
tion, 187 ;  vote  to  raise  $100,- 
000,  189;  success,  190;  conven- 
tion in  New  York,  190;  organ- 
ization of  National  Confer- 
ence, 192;  work  planned,  193; 
new  life  in  Association,    196; 


462 


INDEX 


contributions,  197;  new  theo- 
logical position,  197 ;  organiza- 
tion of  Free  Religious  Associa- 
tion, 202;  attempts  at  recon- 
ciliation,    204;     demand    for 
creed,  205 ;  Year  Book  contro- 
versy, 207;  attitude  of  Unita- 
rians,  209;    missionary  work, 
212;  Charles  Lowe    as  secre- 
tary, 212 ;  fires  in  Chicago  and 
Boston,  213 ;  work  in  west,  214 ; 
college     town    missions,    214; 
theatre  preaching,  215;  organ- 
ization of    local  conferences, 
217 ;  fellowship  and  fraternity, 
219 ;  results  of  denominational 
awakening,  221 ;  western  issue, 
225;   constitution  of  1892,  229; 
fellowship  with  Universalists, 
230;  officers,  231;  adoption  of 
representation,  232;  co-opera- 
tion  of  Association   and  Na- 
tional Conference,  2;i3;  build- 
ing loan  fund,  234 ;  Unitarian 
building,     237;      seventy-fifth 
anniversary,  244;  ministry  at 
large,      247;     aid    to   Sunday 
School  Society,  266 ;  fellowship 
with  foreign  Unitarians,  295 
relations  with    British   Asso 
elation,  295;  Dall  in  India,  299 
work   in    Japan,    303;    educa 
tional  work  in  South,  338,  410 
educational  work  for  Indians, 
340 ;  attitude  towards  slavery 
363;     formation   of     Interna- 
tional Council,  440. 

Unitarian  Association,  British 
and  Foreign,  295,  298,  303. 

Unitarian  beliefs,  157,  158,  168, 
170,  171, 193,  201,  203,  205-207,  209, 
211,  212,  225-227,  229,  362,  376, 
378,  381,  382,  409,  425,  429,  431, 
433,  434. 

Unitarian  Book  and  Pamphlet 
Society,  147,  148. 

Unitarian  Church  Association 
of  Maine,  217,  240. 

Unitarian  hymnology,  244,  420. 

Unitarian  Miscellany,  The,  111- 
114. 

Unitarian  Monitor,  The,  447. 

Unitarian  name,  103, 104, 123, 125, 
138,  192,  2(>6. 

Unitarian  Review,  451. 

Unitarian  Temperance  Society, 
278  351  352. 

Unitarian,  The  (1834),  447. 

Unitarian,  The  (1886),  225,  451. 

Unitarianism,  American,  9,  14, 
16,  36,  57-59,  63,  67,  72,  78,  79,  82, 
102,  104,  111,   115,  118,  122,  124- 


126,  128,  132,  138,  149,  169,  185, 
222-224,  378,  379,  384,  387,  389, 
436-443. 

Unity,  225,  451. 
Unity  clubs,  277-278. 
Unity  of  God,  63,  65. 
Universalism,  67-69,  71,  75,  88,  90, 

93,  193,  194,  230. 
Universality  of  religion,  203,  210. 

Vane,  Sir  Henry,  16,  24. 
Very,  Jones,  155,  244,  381,  431. 

Walcutt,  Robert  F.,  359,  366. 
Walker,  James,  95,  101,  114,  126, 

127,  129,  133-135,  138,  139,  146, 
200,  267,  351,  397,  450. 

Walker,  James  P.,  165,  188,  236, 

272,  280. 
Walker,  Williston,  18,  22. 
Walter,  Cornelia  W.,  404. 
War,  343,  346-348. 
Ware,  Dr.  Henry,  60,  92, 108, 135, 

146. 
Ware,  Henry,  the  younger,  100, 

110,    114,   128,   129,  132,  133,  135, 

138,  143,  145,  148,  163,    184,   243, 

249,  267,    268,  295,  297,  310,   344, 

345,  350,  351,  359,  420. 
Ware,  Dr.  John,  .350. 
Ware,  John  F.  W.,  177, 185,  361. 
Ware,  William,  257,  360,  361,  415, 

429,  447,  450. 
Warren  Street  Chapel,  257,  332, 

337. 
Washington,  119,  213,  376,  380. 
Washington,  George,  377,  379. 
Washington  University,  397,  398. 
Wasson,  David  A.,  201,  202,  211, 

419,  420. 
Waterston,  Robert  C,  332,  361. 
Webster,    Daniel,    356,  380,  385, 

387, 
Webster,  Samuel,  50. 
Weeden,  William  B.,  383. 
Weiss,  John,  200,  202,  360,  361,  419. 
Weld,  Angelina  Grimke,  367, 369. 
Weld,  Theodore  D.,  365,  367. 
Wells,  John,  212,  382. 
Wendell,  Barrett,  410,  435. 
Wendte,  Charles  W.,  246, 276, 289, 

337. 
West,  Samuel,  69,  85,  87. 
West,  Unitarianism  in  the,  151- 

153,  224. 
Western     Conference,     168-172, 

197,   209,   214,   224-229,   284,   285, 

364. 
"Western  issue,"  225-228. 
Western   Messenger,    The,   366^ 

448. 
Western  ministers,  149, 152. 


INDEX 


463 


Western  Unitarian  Association, 

226. 
Wheaton,  Henry,  134,  381. 
Whipple,  Edwin  P.,  428. 
White,  Andrew  D.,  376. 
Whitefield,  George,  41,  44,  46. 
Whitman,  Bernard,  269,  447. 
Whitman,  Jason,  144, 148,  361. 
Whitman,  Walter,  431. 
Whitney,  Leonard,  172,  176. 
Whittier,  John  G.,  376,  431. 
Wigglesworth,  Dr.,  44. 
Wigglesworth,  Thomas,  385. 
Wilkes,  Kliza  Tupper,  371. 
Willard,  Samuel,  26,  35. 
Williams,  John  E.,  332. 
Williams,  Roger,  16,  24,  121. 
Willson,    Edmund   B.,  176,  269, 

361. 
Winkley,  Samuel  H.,  185. 
Wise,  John,  30-34. 
Wolcott,  J.  H.,  385. 
Wolcott,  Roger,  382. 


Women,  .30,  191,  250,  282-294,  343, 
348,  349,  368-372,  402-407,  428, 
429. 

Women's  Alliance,  287-294. 

Women's  Auxiliary,  286. 

Women's  Western  Unitarian 
Conference,  284,  285. 

Woodbury,  Augustus,  146. 

Worcester,  73,  173,  218. 

Worcester  Association  of  Minis- 
ters 173  269. 

Worcester,  Noah,  93,  98-100, 114, 
148,  344,  345,  3.50,  365,  389. 

Wright,  Carroll  D.,  196,  231. 

Wyrnau,  Jeffries,  180,  427. 

Yale  College,  43. 

Year  Book  of  American  Unita- 
rian Association,  207,  449. 

Young,  Alexander,  114,  127,  143, 
267,  424. 

Young  People's  Religious  Un- 
ion, 278. 


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